Chapter 1 TRUSTS

Sec.

§ 68-101. Trustees — Power of district court to appoint.

When a trust exists without any appointed trustees or where any or all of the trustees renounce, die, or are discharged, the district court of the county where the trust property or some portion thereof is situated, must appoint another trustee to direct the execution of the trust. The court may, in its discretion, appoint the original number or any less number of trustees.

History.

1919, ch. 19, § 1, p. 82; C.S., § 6417; I.C.A.,§ 66-101.

STATUTORY NOTES

Cross References.

Escrows,§ 30-901 et seq.

Jurisdiction of courts concerning trusts,§ 15-7-201 et seq.

Trust registration,§ 15-7-101 et seq.

CASE NOTES

Authority of Original Trustees.

Where deed makes no provision for appointment of successors of original trustees, there is no authority vested in original trustees to fill vacancies, but same should be appointed by district court. Sherman v. Citizens’ Right of Way Co., 37 Idaho 528, 217 P. 985 (1923).

RESEARCH REFERENCES

Am. Jur. 2d.

§ 68-102. Death, renunciation, or discharge of trustee — Survival of trust.

On the death, renunciation, or discharge of one (1) of the several number of trustees, the trust survives to the others.

History.

1919, ch. 19, § 2, p. 82; C.S., § 6418; I.C.A.,§ 66-102.

§ 68-103. Compensation of trustees.

When a declaration of trust is silent upon the subject of compensation, the trustee is entitled to the same compensation as an executor. If it specifies the amount of his compensation, he is entitled to the amount thus specified and no more.

History.

1919, ch. 19, § 3, p. 82; C.S., § 6419; I.C.A.,§ 66-103.

STATUTORY NOTES

Cross References.

Compensation of trustees under will,§ 15-7-205.

CASE NOTES

Cited

Bannock Title Co. v. Lindsey, 86 Idaho 583, 388 P.2d 1011 (1963).

RESEARCH REFERENCES

ALR.

Amount of attorneys’ compensation in matters involving guardianship and trusts. 57 A.L.R.3d 550.

Resignation or removal of executor, administrator, guardian, or trustee, before final administration or before termination of trust, as affecting his compensation. 96 A.L.R.3d 1102.

§ 68-104. Uniform Trustees’ Powers Act — Definitions.

As used in this act:

  1. “Trust” means an express trust created by a trust instrument, including a will, whereby a trustee has the duty to administer a trust asset for the benefit of a named or otherwise described income or principal beneficiary, or both; “trust” does not include a resulting or constructive trust, a business trust which provides for certificates to be issued to the beneficiary, an investment trust, a voting trust, a security instrument, a trust created by the judgment or decree of a court, a liquidation trust, or a trust for the primary purpose of paying dividends, interests, interest coupons, salaries, wages, pensions or profits, or employee benefits of any kind, an instrument wherein a person is nominee or escrowee for another, a trust created in deposits in any financial institution, or other trust the nature of which does not admit of general trust administration;
  2. “Trustee” means an original, added, or successor trustee;
  3. “Prudent man” means a trustee whose exercise of trust powers is reasonable and equitable in view of the interests of income or principal beneficiaries, or both, and in view of the manner in which men of ordinary prudence, diligence, discretion, and judgment would act in the management of their own affairs.
History.

1965, ch. 95, § 1, p. 173.

STATUTORY NOTES

Compiler’s Notes.

The term “this act” at the end of the introductory paragraph refers to S. L. 1965, chapter 95, which is compiled as§§ 68-104 to 68-106 and 68-107 to 68-113.

§ 68-105. Powers of trustee conferred by trust or by law.

  1. The trustee has all powers conferred upon him by the provisions of this act unless limited in the trust instrument.
  2. An instrument which is not a trust under section 68-104(1)[, Idaho Code,] may incorporate any part of this act by reference.
History.

1965, ch. 95, § 2, p. 173.

STATUTORY NOTES

Compiler’s Notes.

The term “this act” near the end of subsections (a) and (b) refers to S. L. 1965, chapter 95, which is compiled as§§ 68-104 to 68-106 and 68-107 to 68-113.

The bracketed insertion near the midle of subsection (b) was added by the compiler to conform to the statutory citation style.

CASE NOTES

Expenses.

In a dispute over trust property between the decedent’s second wife and decedent’s son, who were co-trustees and beneficiaries of the decedent’s inter vivos trust, the magistrate court did not err in denying the son’s claims on behalf of the trust against the second wife for reimbursement of expenses to the trust because both the wife and the son, as co-trustees, pursued the litigation and appeal with the belief that each was defending either the trust or the estate, and both acted within their prescribed roles as trustees to protect and defend actions and claims. Carter v. Carter (In re Carter JJC Trust), 143 Idaho 373, 146 P.3d 639 (2006).

§ 68-106. Powers of trustees conferred by this act.

  1. From time of creation of the trust until final distribution of the assets of the trust, a trustee has the power to perform, without court authorization, every act which a prudent man would perform for the purposes of the trust including but not limited to the powers specified in subsection (c).
  2. In the exercise of his powers including the powers granted by this act, a trustee has a duty to act with due regard to his obligation as a fiduciary.
  3. A trustee has the power, subject to subsections (a) and (b):
    1. to collect, hold, and retain trust assets received from a trustor until, in the judgment of the trustee, disposition of the assets should be made; and the assets may be retained even though they include an asset in which the trustee is personally interested;
    2. to receive additions to the assets of the trust;
    3. to continue or participate in the operation of any business or other enterprise, and to effect incorporation, dissolution, or other change in the form of the organization of the business or enterprise;
    4. to acquire an undivided interest in a trust asset in which the trustee, in any trust capacity, holds an undivided interest;
    5. to invest and reinvest trust assets in accordance with the provisions of the trust or as provided by law;
    6. to deposit trust funds in a bank, including a bank operated by the trustee;
    7. to acquire assets, including real estate, in the name of the trust, and to sell, convey or dispose of an asset, for cash or on credit, at public or private sale; and to manage, develop, improve, exchange, partition, change the character of, or abandon a trust asset or any interest therein; and to encumber, mortgage, or pledge a trust asset for a term within or extending beyond the term of the trust, in connection with the exercise of any power vested in the trustee;
    8. to make ordinary or extraordinary repairs or alterations in buildings or other structures, to demolish any improvements, to raze existing or erect new party walls or buildings;
    9. to subdivide, develop, or dedicate land to public use; or to make or obtain the vacation of plats and adjust boundaries; or to adjust differences in valuation on exchange or partition by giving or receiving consideration; or to dedicate easements to public use without consideration;
    10. to enter for any purpose into a lease as lessor or lessee with or without option to purchase or renew for a term within or extending beyond the term of the trust;
    11. to enter into a lease or arrangement for exploration and removal of minerals or other natural resources or enter into a pooling or unitization agreement;
    12. to grant an option involving disposition of a trust asset, or to take an option for the acquisition of any asset;
    13. to vote a security, in person or by general or limited proxy;
    14. to pay calls, assessments, and any other sums chargeable or accruing against or on account of securities;
    15. to sell or exercise stock subscription or conversion rights; to consent, directly or through a committee or other agent, to the reorganization, consolidation, merger, dissolution, or liquidation of a corporation or other business enterprise; (16) to hold a security in the name of a nominee or in other form without disclosure of the trust, so that title to the security may pass by delivery, but the trustee is liable for any act of the nominee in connection with the stock so held;

(17) to insure the assets of the trust against damage or loss, and the trustee against liability with respect to third persons;

(18) to borrow money to be repaid from trust assets or otherwise; to advance money for the protection of the trust, and for all expenses, losses, and liability sustained in the administration of the trust or because of the holding or ownership of any trust assets, for which advances with any interest the trustee has a lien on the trust assets as against the beneficiary;

(19) to pay or contest any claim; to settle a claim by or against the trust by compromise, arbitration, or otherwise; and to release, in whole or in part, any claim belonging to the trust to the extent that the claim is uncollectible;

(20) to pay taxes, assessments, compensation of the trustee, and other expenses incurred in the collection, care, administration, and protection of the trust;

(21) to allocate items of income or expense to either trust income or principal, as provided by law, including creation of reserves out of income for depreciation, obsolescence, or amortization, or for depletion in mineral or timber properties;

(22) to pay any sum distributable to a beneficiary under legal disability, without liability to the trustee, by paying the sum to the beneficiary or by paying the sum for the use of the beneficiary either to a legal representative appointed by the court, or if none, to a relative;

(23) to effect distribution of property and money in divided or undivided interests and to adjust resulting differences in valuation;

(24) to employ persons, including attorneys, auditors, investment advisors, or agents, even if they are associated with the trustee, to advise or assist the trustee in the performance of his administrative duties; to act without independent investigation upon their recommendations; and instead of acting personally, to employ one or more agents to perform any act of administration, whether or not discretionary;

(25) to prosecute or defend actions, claims, or proceedings for the protection of trust assets and of the trustee in the performance of his duties;

(26) to execute and deliver all instruments which will accomplish or facilitate the exercise of the powers vested in the trustee.

History.

1965, ch. 95, § 3, p. 173; am. 1983, ch. 137, § 1, p. 333.

STATUTORY NOTES

Compiler’s Notes.

The term “this act” in the section heading and in subsection (b) refer to S. L. 1965, chapter 95, which is compiled as§§ 68-104 to 68-106 and 68-107 to 68-113.

CASE NOTES

Attorney fees and costs. Sale of property.

Applicability.

Where the issues and claims of this suit did not involve the administration or defense of the estate or the trustee in the performance of his duties as trustee, subdivisions (c)(24) and (c)(25) of this section were inapplicable. Grover v. Grover, 109 Idaho 687, 710 P.2d 597 (1985).

Provisions in a Trust and Estate Dispute Resolution Act (TEDRA) agreement, exculpating a party from liability, are enforceable only to the extent they settle past claims of negligence and of breaches of fiduciary duty committed before the agreement was executed. To the extent the provisions purport to exculpate the party from liability for future negligence or for breaches of fiduciary duty occurring after the TEDRA agreement, such provisions are void as against public policy. Frizzell v. DeYoung, 163 Idaho 473, 415 P.3d 341 (2018).

Attorney Fees and Costs.

In a dispute over trust property between the decedent’s second wife and decedent’s son, who were co-trustees and beneficiaries of the decedent’s inter vivos trust, the magistrate court did not err in denying the son’s claims on behalf of the trust against the second wife for reimbursement of expenses to the trust because both the wife and the son, as co-trustees, pursued the litigation and appeal with the belief that each was defending either the trust or the estate, and both acted within their prescribed roles as trustees to protect and defend actions and claims. Carter v. Carter (In re Carter JJC Trust), 143 Idaho 373, 146 P.3d 639 (2006).

Sale of Property.

When a trustee, who was also a beneficiary, had a conflict of interest, the trustee had a duty to seek court approval before she sold land that belonged to the trust. Taylor v. Maile, 146 Idaho 705, 201 P.3d 1282 (2009).

Cited

Taylor v. Maile, 142 Idaho 253, 127 P.3d 156 (2005); Wasden v. State Bd. of Land Comm’n, 153 Idaho 190, 280 P.3d 693 (2012).

RESEARCH REFERENCES

ALR.

Distribution of income released by declaration of invalidity of express direction of accumulation. 17 A.L.R.3d 231.

Trustee’s power to exchange trust property for share of corporation organized to hold the property. 20 A.L.R.3d 841.

Power of trustee of noncharitable trust to make gift of trust property. 21 A.L.R.3d 801.

Duty of trustee to diversify investments, and liability for failure to do so. 24 A.L.R.3d 730.

Validity and construction of trust provision authorizing trustee to purchase trust property. 39 A.L.R.3d 836.

Propriety of considering beneficiary’s other means under trust provision authorizing invasion of principal for beneficiary’s support. 41 A.L.R.3d 255.

Standard of care required of trustee representing itself to have expert knowledge or skill. 91 A.L.R.3d 903.

§ 68-106A. Fiduciary duty to determine equivalent value of substituted property.

Notwithstanding the terms of a trust instrument, if a grantor has the power to substitute property of equivalent value, a trustee has a fiduciary duty to determine that the substitute property is of equivalent value, prior to allowing the substitution.

History.

I.C.,§ 68-106A, as added by 2011, ch. 35, § 1, p. 78.

§ 68-107. Trustee’s office not transferable — Transactions under chapter 14, title 26, Idaho Code, excepted.

  1. The trustee shall not transfer his office to another or delegate the entire administration of the trust to a co-trustee or another.
  2. Subsection (1) of this section does not apply to any transfer permitted under chapter 14, title 26, Idaho Code.
History.

1965, ch. 95, § 4, p. 173; am. 1991, ch. 215, § 1, p. 515.

STATUTORY NOTES

Effective Dates.

Section 2 of S.L. 1991, ch. 215 declared an emergency. Approved April 2, 1991.

§ 68-108. Power of court to permit deviation or to approve transactions involving conflict of interest.

  1. This act does not effect [affect] the power of a court of competent jurisdiction for cause shown and upon petition of the trustee or affected beneficiary and upon appropriate notice to the affected parties to relieve a trustee from any restrictions on his power that would otherwise be placed upon him by the trust or by this act.
  2. If the duty of the trustee and his individual interest or his interest as trustee of another trust, conflict in the exercise of a trust power, the power may be exercised only by court authorization, except as provided in sections 68-106(c)(1), (4), (6), (18), and (24)[, Idaho Code,] upon petition of the trustee. Under this section, personal profit or advantage to an affiliated or subsidiary company or association is personal profit to any corporate trustee.
History.

1965, ch. 95, § 5, p. 173.

STATUTORY NOTES

Compiler’s Notes.

The bracketed word “affect” in subsection (a) was inserted by the compiler to correct enacting legislation.

The term “this act” at the beginning and end of subsection (a) refers to S. L. 1965, chapter 95, which is compiled as§§ 68-104 to 68-106 and 68-107 to 68-113.

The bracketed insertion near the end of the first sentence in subsection (b) was added by the compiler to conform to the statutory citation style.

CASE NOTES

Cited

Taylor v. Maile, 142 Idaho 253, 127 P.3d 156 (2005).

RESEARCH REFERENCES

ALR.

Court’s power to appoint additional trustees over number specified in trust instrument. 59 A.L.R.3d 1129.

§ 68-109. Powers exercisable by joint trustees — Liability.

  1. Any power vested in 3 or more trustees may be exercised by a majority, but a trustee who has not joined in exercising a power is not liable to the beneficiaries or to others for the consequences of the exercise; and a dissenting trustee is not liable for the consequences of an act in which he joins at the direction of the majority of the trustees, if he expressed his dissent in writing to any of his co-trustees at or before the time of the joinder.
  2. If 2 or more trustees are appointed to perform a trust, and if any of them is unable or refuses to accept the appointment, or, having accepted, ceases to be a trustee, the surviving or remaining trustees shall perform the trust and succeed to all the powers, duties, and discretionary authority given to the trustees jointly.
  3. This section does not excuse a co-trustee from liability for failure either to participate in the administration of the trust or to attempt to prevent a breach of trust.
History.

1965, ch. 95, § 6, p. 173.

CASE NOTES

Signature Requirement.

Where trust agreement required signatures of trustee and co-trustee to join in any sale or exchange of trust property, as only trustee signed “land for debt contract” and warranty deed, there was no factual dispute precluding court’s grant of summary judgment on rescission of the “land for debt” contract. Walter E. Wilhite Revocable Living Trust v. Northwest Yearly Meeting Pension Fund, 128 Idaho 539, 916 P.2d 1264 (1996).

§ 68-110. Third persons protected in dealing with trustee.

With respect to a third person dealing with a trustee or assisting a trustee in the conduct of a transaction, the existence of trust powers and their proper exercise by the trustee may be assumed without inquiry. The third person is not bound to inquire whether the trustee has power to act or is properly exercising the power; and a third person, without actual knowledge that the trustee is exceeding his powers or improperly exercising them, is fully protected in dealing with the trustee as if the trustee possessed and properly exercised the powers he purports to exercise. A third person is not bound to assure the proper application of trust assets paid or delivered to the trustee.

History.

1965, ch. 95, § 7, p. 173.

§ 68-111. Application of act.

Except as specifically provided in the trust, the provisions of this act apply to any trust established after the effective date of this act.

History.

1965, ch. 95, § 8, p. 173.

STATUTORY NOTES

Compiler’s Notes.

The term “this act” in this section refers to S. L. 1965, chapter 95, which is compiled as§§ 68-104 to 68-106 and 68-107 to 68-113. The effective date of S.L. 1965, chapter 95 was May 17, 1965.

§ 68-112. Uniformity of interpretation.

This act shall be construed to effectuate its general purpose to make uniform the law of those states which enact it.

History.

1965, ch. 95, § 9, p. 173.

STATUTORY NOTES

Compiler’s Notes.

The term “this act” in this section refers to S. L. 1965, chapter 95, which is compiled as§§ 68-104 to 68-106 and 68-107 to 68-113.

§ 68-113. Short title.

This act may be cited as the “Uniform Trustees’ Powers Act.”

History.

1965, ch. 95, § 10, p. 173.

STATUTORY NOTES

Compiler’s Notes.

The term “this act” in this section refers to S. L. 1965, chapter 95, which is compiled as§§ 68-104 to 68-106 and 68-107 to 68-113.

Section 11 of S.L. 1965, ch. 95, read: “Severability. — If any provision of this act or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of the act which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this act are severable.”

§ 68-114. Presentation of a certification of trust in lieu of the trust instrument — Effect — Form.

  1. A trustee may present a certification of trust to any person in lieu of a copy of any trust instrument to establish the existence or terms of the trust. The trustee may present the certification voluntarily or at the request of the person with whom he is dealing. Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter to the contrary, no person is required to accept and rely solely on a certification of trust in lieu of a copy of, or excerpts from, the trust instrument itself.
  2. Such a certification must be in the form of an affidavit signed and acknowledged by all of the currently acting trustees of the trust.
History.

I.C.,§ 68-114, as added by 1998, ch. 302, § 1, p. 995.

§ 68-115. Contents of certification of trust.

  1. A certification of trust may confirm the following facts or contain the following information:
    1. The existence of the trust and date of execution of any trust instrument;
    2. The identity of the settlor and each currently acting trustee;
    3. The powers of the trustee and any restrictions imposed upon him in dealing with assets of the trust;
    4. The revocability or irrevocability of the trust and the identity of any person holding a power to revoke it;
    5. If there is more than one (1) trustee, whether all of the currently acting trustees must, or less than all may, act to exercise identified powers of the trustee;
    6. The identifying number of the trust and whether it is a social security number or an employer identification number;
    7. The state or other jurisdiction under the laws of which the trust was established; and
    8. The form in which title to assets of the trust is to be taken.
  2. The certification must contain a statement that the trust has not been revoked or amended to make any representations contained in the certification incorrect, and that the signatures are those of all the currently acting trustees.
History.

I.C.,§ 68-115, as added by 1998, ch. 302, § 2, p. 995.

§ 68-116. Dispositive provisions not required — Person presented with certification may request excerpts from trust instrument designating trustee.

A certification of trust need not contain the dispositive provisions of the trust, but the person to whom the certification is presented may require copies of excerpts from any trust instrument which designate the trustee or confer upon him the power to act in the pending transaction.

History.

I.C.,§ 68-116, as added by 1998, ch. 302, § 3, p. 995.

§ 68-117. Reliance on facts contained in certification — Enforceability.

  1. A person who acts in reliance upon a certification of trust without knowledge that the representations contained therein are incorrect is not liable to any person for so acting. A person who does not know that the facts contained in the certification are incorrect may assume without inquiry the existence of the facts contained in the certification. Knowledge may not be inferred solely from the fact that a copy of all or part of a trust instrument is held by the person relying upon the certification.
  2. A transaction, and any lien created thereby, entered into by a trustee and a person acting in reliance upon a certification of trust is fully enforceable against the assets of the trust unless the person knows that the trustee is acting outside the scope of the trust.
History.

I.C.,§ 68-117, as added by 1998, ch. 302, § 4, p. 995.

§ 68-118. Failure to demand certification or refusal to accept and rely on certification not improper act — Liability.

A person’s failure to demand a certification of trust, or his refusal to accept and rely solely on a certification of trust, may not be considered to be an improper act by him and no inference as to whether he has acted in good faith may be drawn from the failure to demand, or the refusal to accept and rely upon, a certification of trust. This section creates no implication that a person is liable for acting in reliance upon a certification of trust under circumstances where the requirements of sections 68-114 through 68-119, Idaho Code, are not satisfied.

History.

I.C.,§ 68-118, as added by 1998, ch. 302, § 5, p. 995.

§ 68-119. Applicability.

The provisions of sections 68-114 through 68-120, Idaho Code, shall apply to all trusts, whether established pursuant to Idaho law or established pursuant to the law of another state or jurisdiction.

History.

I.C.,§ 68-119, as added by 1998, ch. 302, § 6, p. 995; am. 2006, ch. 250, § 1, p. 759.

STATUTORY NOTES

Amendments.

The 2006 amendment, by ch. 250, updated the last reference in the section span.

§ 68-120. Doctrine of worthier title inapplicable.

The doctrine of worthier title shall not be applied as a rule of law or as a rule of construction. Language in a governing instrument describing the beneficiaries of a disposition as the transferor’s heirs, heirs at law, next of kin, distributees, relatives or family, or language of similar import, shall not create or presumptively create a reversionary interest in the transferor.

History.

I.C.,§ 68-120, as added by 2006, ch. 250, § 2, p. 759.

Chapter 2 ASSIGNMENTS FOR BENEFIT OF CREDITORS

Sec.

§ 68-201. Residence qualification of assignee.

No assignment for the benefit of creditors shall be valid unless made to a bona fide resident of this state or to a corporation duly authorized to do business in this state.

History.

1927, ch. 209, § 1, p. 293; I.C.A.,§ 66-201.

RESEARCH REFERENCES

ALR.

§ 68-301. Definition of terms.

In this chapter unless the context or subject-matter otherwise requires:

  1. “Bank” includes any person or association of persons, whether incorporated or not, carrying on the business of banking.
  2. A thing is done “in good faith” within the meaning of this chapter when it is in fact done honestly, whether it be done negligently or not.

“Fiduciary” includes a trustee under any trust, expressed, implied, resulting or constructive, executor, administrator, guardian, conservator, curator, receiver, trustee in bankruptcy, assignee for the benefit of creditors, partner, agent, officer of a corporation, public or private, public officer, or any other person acting in a fiduciary capacity for any person, trust or estate.

“Person” includes a corporation, partnership, or other association, or two (2) or more persons having a joint or common interest.

“Principal” includes any person to whom a fiduciary as such owes an obligation.

History.

1925, ch. 217, § 1, p. 393; I.C.A.,§ 66-301.

STATUTORY NOTES

Cross References.

Declaration of rights, administration of trusts,§ 10-1204.

Jurisdiction of court,§ 15-7-201 et seq.

§ 68-302. Application of payments made to fiduciaries.

A person who in good faith pays or transfers to a fiduciary any money or other property which the fiduciary as such is authorized to receive, is not responsible for the proper application thereof by the fiduciary; and any right or title acquired from the fiduciary in consideration of such payment or transfer is not invalid in consequence of a misapplication by the fiduciary.

History.

1925, ch. 217, § 2, p. 393; I.C.A.,§ 66-302.

§ 68-303. Registration of transfer of securities held by fiduciaries. [Repealed.]

STATUTORY NOTES

Compiler’s Notes.

This section, which comprised S.L. 1925, ch. 217, § 3, p. 393; I.C.A.,§ 66-303, was repealed by S.L. 1959, ch. 136, § 12, p. 294.

§ 68-304. Transfer of negotiable instrument by fiduciary.

If any negotiable instrument payable or indorsed to a fiduciary as such is indorsed by the fiduciary, or if any negotiable instrument payable or indorsed to his principal is indorsed by a fiduciary empowered to indorse such instrument on behalf of his principal, the indorsee is not bound to inquire whether the fiduciary is committing a breach of his obligation as fiduciary in indorsing or delivering the instrument, and is not chargeable with notice that the fiduciary is committing a breach of his obligation as fiduciary unless he takes the instrument with actual knowledge of such breach or with knowledge of such facts that his action in taking the instrument amounts to bad faith. If, however, such instrument is transferred by the fiduciary in payment of or as security for a personal debt of the fiduciary to the actual knowledge of the creditor, or is transferred in any transaction known by the transferee to be for the personal benefit of the fiduciary, the creditor or other transferee is liable to the principal if the fiduciary in fact commits a breach of his obligation as fiduciary in transferring the instrument.

History.

1925, ch. 217, § 4, p. 393; I.C.A.,§ 66-304.

RESEARCH REFERENCES

ALR.

Construction and effect of UCC Art. 3, dealing with commercial paper. 23 A.L.R.3d 932; 42 A.L.R.5th 137.

Duty of pledgee of commercial paper as to its enforcement of collection. 45 A.L.R.3d 248.

Account stated based upon check or note tendered in payment of debt. 46 A.L.R.3d 1325.

What amounts to “negligence contributing to alteration or unauthorized signature” under UCC§ 3-406. 67 A.L.R.3d 144.

What constitutes “dealing” under UCC§ 3-305(2), providing that holder in due course takes instrument free from all defenses of any party to instrument with whom holder has not dealt. 42 A.L.R.5th 137.

§ 68-305. Check drawn by fiduciary payable to third person.

If a check or other bill of exchange is drawn by a fiduciary as such, or in the name of his principal by a fiduciary empowered to draw such instrument in the name of his principal, the payee is not bound to inquire whether the fiduciary is committing a breach of his obligation as fiduciary in drawing or delivering the instrument, and is not chargeable with notice that the fiduciary is committing a breach of his obligation as fiduciary unless he takes the instrument with actual knowledge of such breach or with knowledge of such facts that his action in taking the instrument amounts to bad faith. If, however, such instrument is payable to a personal creditor of the fiduciary and delivered to the creditor in payment of or as security for a personal debt of the fiduciary to the actual knowledge of the creditor, or is drawn and delivered in any transaction known by the payee to be for the personal benefit of the fiduciary, the creditor or other payee is liable to the principal if the fiduciary in fact commits a breach of his obligation as fiduciary in drawing or delivering the instrument.

History.

1925, ch. 217, § 5, p. 393; I.C.A.,§ 66-305.

§ 68-306. Check drawn by and payable to fiduciary.

If a check or other bill of exchange is drawn by a fiduciary as such or in the name of his principal by a fiduciary empowered to draw such instrument in the name of his principal, payable to the fiduciary personally, or payable to a third person and by him transferred to the fiduciary, and is thereafter transferred by the fiduciary, whether in payment of a personal debt of the fiduciary or otherwise, the transferee is not bound to inquire whether the fiduciary is committing a breach of his obligation as fiduciary in transferring the instrument, and is not chargeable with notice that the fiduciary is committing a breach of his obligation as fiduciary unless he takes the instrument with actual knowledge of such facts that his action in taking the instrument amounts to bad faith.

History.

1925, ch. 217, § 6, p. 393; I.C.A.,§ 66-303.

CASE NOTES

Liability of Depository Bank.

Mere switching of trust funds by fiduciary to his own personal account does not impose on depository bank any duty of investigation. White-Dulany Co. v. Craigmont State Bank, 48 Idaho 100, 279 P. 621 (1929).

§ 68-307. Deposit in name of fiduciary as such.

If a deposit is made in a bank to the credit of a fiduciary as such, the bank is authorized to pay the amount of the deposit or any part thereof upon the check of the fiduciary, signed with the name in which such deposit is entered, without being liable to the principal, unless the bank pays the check with actual knowledge that the fiduciary is committing a breach of his obligation as fiduciary in drawing the check or with knowledge of such facts that its action in paying the check amounts to bad faith. If, however, such a check is payable to the drawee bank and is delivered to it in payment of or as security for a personal debt of the fiduciary to it, the bank is liable to the principal if the fiduciary in fact commits a breach of his obligation as fiduciary in drawing or delivering the check.

History.

1925, ch. 217, § 7, p. 393; I.C.A.,§ 66-307.

§ 68-308. Deposit in name of principal.

If a check is drawn upon the account of his principal in a bank by a fiduciary who is empowered to draw checks upon his principal’s account, the bank is authorized to pay such check without being liable to the principal, unless the bank pays the check with actual knowledge that the fiduciary is committing a breach of his obligation as fiduciary in drawing such check, or with knowledge of such facts that its action in paying the check amounts to bad faith. If, however, such a check is payable to the drawee bank and is delivered to it in payment of or as security for a personal debt of the fiduciary to it, the bank is liable to the principal if the fiduciary in fact commits a breach of his obligation as fiduciary in drawing or delivering the check.

History.

1925, ch. 217, § 8, p. 393; I.C.A.,§ 66-308.

§ 68-309. Deposit in fiduciary’s personal account.

If a fiduciary makes a deposit in a bank to his personal credit of checks drawn by him upon an account in his own name as fiduciary or of the checks payable to him as fiduciary, or of checks drawn by him upon an account in the name of his principal if he is empowered to draw checks thereon, or of checks payable to his principal and indorsed by him, if he is empowered to indorse such checks, or if he otherwise makes a deposit of funds held by him as fiduciary, the bank receiving such deposit is not bound to inquire whether the fiduciary is committing thereby a breach of his obligations as fiduciary; and the bank is authorized to pay the amount of the deposit or any part thereof upon the personal check of the fiduciary without being liable to the principal, unless the bank receives the deposit or pays the check with actual knowledge that the fiduciary is committing a breach of his obligation as fiduciary in making such deposit or in drawing such check, or with knowledge of such facts that its action in receiving the deposit or paying the check amounts to bad faith.

History.

1925, ch. 217, § 9, p. 393; I.C.A.,§ 66-309.

CASE NOTES

Indorsement.

If agent was authorized to indorse principal’s checks only restrictively for deposit in the principal’s account at principal’s bank, bank in which agent’s personal account was located would have been obligated to inquire as to whether he was committing a breach of his fiduciary obligation by depositing the checks in agent’s personal account. Coeur d’Alene Mining Co. v. First Nat’l Bank, 118 Idaho 812, 800 P.2d 1026 (1990).

The fact that agent had indorsed in blank checks payable to principal, when depositing them in the principal’s bank account did not indicate what form of indorsement was necessary to allow him to carry out his express authority in said account. Coeur d’Alene Mining Co. v. First Nat’l Bank, 118 Idaho 812, 800 P.2d 1026 (1990).

Viability of Section.

Despite a bank’s contention that§§ 26-717 [now 26-713] and 28-4-401 and this section, taken together dictated that only the owner of a bank account may assert a legally cognizable interest in a deposit account, the statutes did not resolve the rights of the account owner in relation to the bankruptcy debtor, the true owner of the funds deposited in that account; thus the use of account funds to pay a debt of the account owner was a transfer of the debtor’s property which was avoidable in bankruptcy. Hopkins v. D.L. Evans Bank (In re Fox Bean Co.), 287 B.R. 270 (Bankr. D. Idaho 2002). Viability of Section.

Because of the substantial similarity of the language in§ 68-306 and this section, the statement made in the comment to the official text of the portion of the UCC enacted as former§ 28-3-304(2) [now repealed] that refers to § 6 of the Uniform Fiduciaries Act (namely, that this subsection follows the policy of § 6 and specifies the same elements as notice of improper conduct of a fiduciary) should also be considered to include reference to § 9 of that act, which is this section; thus, there was no inconsistency between former§ 28-3-304(2) [now repealed] and this section, as applied to the facts of this case, and the implications of this conclusion are that former§ 28-3-304(2) [now repealed] did not repeal this section. Coeur d’Alene Mining Co. v. First Nat’l Bank, 118 Idaho 812, 800 P.2d 1026 (1990).

§ 68-310. Deposit in names of two or more trustees.

When a deposit is made in a bank in the name of two (2) or more persons as trustees and a check is drawn upon the trust account by any trustee or trustees authorized by the other trustee or trustees to draw checks upon the trust account, neither the payee nor other holder nor the bank is bound to inquire whether it is a breach of trust to authorize such trustee or trustees to draw checks upon the trust account, and is not liable unless the circumstances be such that the action of the payee or other holder or the bank amounts to bad faith.

History.

1925, ch. 217, § 10, p. 393; I.C.A.,§ 66-310.

§ 68-311. Chapter not retroactive.

The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to transactions taking place prior to the time when it takes effect.

History.

1925, ch. 217, § 11, p. 393; I.C.A.,§ 66-311.

§ 68-312. Cases not provided for in chapter.

In any case not provided for in this chapter the rules of law and equity, including the law merchant and those rules of law and equity relating to trusts, agency, negotiable instruments and banking, shall continue to apply.

History.

1925, ch. 217, § 12, p. 393; I.C.A.,§ 66-312.

§ 68-313. Uniformity of interpretation.

This chapter shall be so interpreted and construed as to effectuate its general purpose to make uniform the law of those states which enact it.

History.

1925, ch. 217, § 13, p. 393; I.C.A.,§ 66-313.

§ 68-314. Short title.

This chapter may be cited as the Uniform Fiduciaries Law.

History.

1925, ch. 217, § 14, p. 393; I.C.A.,§ 66-314.

§ 68-315. Inconsistent laws repealed.

All acts or parts of acts inconsistent with this chapter are hereby repealed.

History.

1925, ch. 217, § 15, p. 393; I.C.A.,§ 66-315.

Chapter 4 LEGAL INVESTMENTS

Sec.

§ 68-401. Mortgage loans insurable by federal housing administrator — Authority to make.

The following persons, corporations, institutions and officers are hereby authorized to make such loans, secured by real property or leasehold as the federal housing administrator [federal housing administration] insures or makes a commitment to insure, and may obtain such insurance, to-wit: banks, trust companies, insurance companies, loan and building corporations, building and loan associations, savings and loan associations, and other savings and/or investment institutions, guardians, executors, administrators, trustees and other fiduciaries, and all other persons, associations and corporations subject to the laws of this state and qualified and licensed to make such loans.

History.

1935, ch. 3, § 1, p. 14; am. 1935, ch. 127, § 1, p. 299; am. 1937, ch. 26, § 1, p. 36.

STATUTORY NOTES

Cross References.

Insurance companies,§§ 41-602 to 41-605.

Compiler’s Notes.

The bracketed insertion near the beginning of the section was added by the compiler to reflect that the federal housing administration insures home loans. The federal housing administration is headed by the assistant secretary of housing and urban development for housing. See https://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/federalhousingadministration .

RESEARCH REFERENCES

ALR.

§ 68-402. Securities of federal housing administrator and national mortgage associations legal investments.

It shall be lawful for banks, trust companies, insurance companies, loan and building corporations, building and loan associations, savings and loan associations, and other savings and/or investment institutions, guardians, executors, administrators, trustees and other fiduciaries, and all other persons, associations and corporations subject to the laws of this state, qualified thereto, to invest their funds and the moneys in their custody or possession eligible for investment in notes or bonds secured by mortgage or deed of trust insured or debentures issued, by the federal housing administrator [federal housing administration], and in securities and stocks of national mortgage associations.

History.

1935, ch. 3, § 2, p. 14; am. 1935, ch. 127, § 2, p. 299; am. 1937, ch. 26, § 2, p. 36; am. 1957, ch. 108, § 1, p. 186.

STATUTORY NOTES

Compiler’s Notes.

The bracketed insertion near the end of the section was added by the compiler to reflect that the federal housing administration insures home loans. The federal housing administration is headed by the assistant secretary of housing and urban development for housing. See https://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/federalhousingadministration .

Effective Dates.

Section 2 of S.L. 1957, ch. 108 declared an emergency. Approved February 28, 1957.

§ 68-403. Other laws declared inapplicable.

No law of this state, requiring securities upon which loans or investments may be made or prescribing the nature, amount or form of such security, or prescribing or limiting the period for which loans or investments may be made, shall be deemed to apply to loans or investments made pursuant to the authority granted in this act.

History.

1935, ch. 3, § 3, p. 14; reen. 1935, ch. 127, § 3, p. 299.

STATUTORY NOTES

Compiler’s Notes.

The term “this act” at the end of the section refers to S.L. 1935, chapter 3, which is compiled as§§ 68-401 to 68-403.

Effective Dates.

Section 4 of S.L. 1935, ch. 3 declared an emergency. Approved January 23, 1935.

Section 4 of S.L. 1935, ch. 127 declared an emergency. Approved March 19, 1935.

§ 68-404. Federal Home Loan Bank securities made legal investments.

Executors, administrators, guardians, trustees and other fiduciaries of every kind and nature, land and building corporations, building and loan associations, savings and loan associations and other savings or investment institutions, trust companies, banks and insurance companies, incorporated under the laws of this state, are authorized, in addition to investments now authorized by laws of this state, to invest in bonds and other obligations of, or guaranteed as to interest and principal by, the United States, either directly or through securities of or other interests in any unincorporated investment company or investment trust registered under the federal investment company act of 1940, as from time to time amended, provided that the portfolio of such investment company or investment trust is limited to obligations of the United States government and its agencies and instrumentalities, the payment of which is fully guaranteed as to principal and interest by the United States government, and to repurchase agreements fully collateralized by any such obligations, provided that such investment company or investment trust takes delivery of such collateral either directly or through an authorized custodian; bonds or debentures issued by any federal home loan bank in accordance with the provisions of the Federal Home Loan Bank Act, and amendments thereto; consolidated federal home loan bank bonds or debentures issued by the federal home loan bank board in accordance with the provisions of the Federal Home Loan Bank Act, and amendments thereto; bonds or debentures issued by the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation in accordance with the provisions of title IV of the National Housing Act, and amendments thereto; shares or accounts of land and building corporations, savings and loan associations, building and loan associations, and other savings or investment institutions, incorporated under the laws of this state, which have been insured by the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation; and shares or accounts of federal savings and loan associations incorporated under the provisions of Home Owners’ Loan Act of 1933, and amendments thereto, doing business in this state, which have been insured by the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation.

History.

1937, ch. 62, § 1, p. 83; am. 1992, ch. 239, § 1, p. 711.

STATUTORY NOTES

Federal References.

The federal investment company act of 1940, referred to herein, is compiled as 15 U.S.C.S. § 80a-1 et seq.

The Federal Home Loan Bank Act, referred to herein, is compiled as 12 U.S.C.S. § 1421 et seq.

Title IV of the National Housing Act, referred to near the end of this section, was compiled as 12 U.S.C.S.§§ 1724-1730, but was repealed by P.L. 101-73, Act of August 9, 1989.

The Home Owners’ Loan Act of 1933, referred to near the end of the section, is compiled as 12 U.S.C.S. § 1461 et seq.

Compiler’s Notes.

The federal home loan bank board, referred to in this section, was dissolved in 1989 and was superseded by the federal housing finance board (and federal housing finance agency in 2009) and the office of thrift supervision (and office of the comptroller of the currency in 2011). See https://www.fhfa.gov and https://www.occ.treas.gov .

The federal savings and loan insurance corporation, referred to in this section, was abolished in 1989 and its duties and responsibilities were transferred to the federal deposit insurance corporation. See https://www.fdic.gov .

§ 68-404A. Banks and trust companies — Investment in mutual funds.

  1. In addition to other investments authorized by law for the investment of funds held by a fiduciary, or by the instrument governing the fiduciary relationship, and notwithstanding any other provision of law, a bank or trust company acting as a fiduciary, agent or otherwise may, in the exercise of its investment discretion or at the direction of another person authorized to direct the investment of funds held by the bank or trust company as a fiduciary, invest and reinvest in the securities of an open-end or closed-end management investment company or investment trust registered under the federal investment company act of 1940.
  2. The fact that the bank or trust company or an affiliate of the bank or trust company provides services to the investment company or investment trust as an investment advisor, custodian, transfer agent, registrar, sponsor, distributor, manager or otherwise and is receiving reasonable remuneration for those services, shall not preclude such bank or trust company from investing or reinvesting in the securities of such investment company or investment trust.
History.

I.C.,§ 68-404A, as added by 1992, ch. 54, § 1, p. 159.

STATUTORY NOTES

Federal References.

The federal investment company act of 1940, referred to at the end of subsection (1), is compiled as 15 U.S.C.S. § 80a-1 et seq.

§ 68-405. Housing bonds legal investments.

Notwithstanding any restrictions on investments contained in any laws of this state all banks, bankers, trust companies, savings banks and institutions, building and loan associations, savings and loan associations, investment companies and other persons carrying on a banking business, all insurance companies, insurance associations and other persons carrying on an insurance business, and all executors, administrators, guardians, trustees and other fiduciaries may legally invest any sinking funds, moneys or other funds belonging to them or within their control in any bonds or other obligations issued by a housing authority pursuant to the Housing Authorities Law of this state, or issued by any public housing authority or agency in the United States, when such bonds or other obligations are secured by a pledge of annual contributions to be paid by the United States government or any agency thereof; it being the purpose of this act to authorize any private persons or corporations to use any funds owned or controlled by them, including (but not limited to) sinking, insurance, investment and trust funds, and funds held on deposit, for the purchase of any such bonds or other obligations; provided, however, that nothing contained in this act shall be construed as relieving any person, firm or corporation from any duty of exercising reasonable care in selecting securities.

History.

1939, ch. 232, § 1, p. 528.

STATUTORY NOTES

Legislative Intent.

Section 2 of S.L. 1939, ch. 232, provided as follows: “Notwithstanding any other evidence of legislative intent, it is hereby declared to be the controlling legislative intent that if any provision of this act or the application thereof to any person or circumstance, is held invalid, the remainder of the act and the application of such provision to person or circumstances other than those as to which it is held invalid, shall not be affected thereby.”

Compiler’s Notes.

The Housing Authorities Law, referred to near the middle of this section, was enacted by S.L. 1939, chapter 234 and repealed by S.L. 1967, chapter 429. For comparable provisions, see§ 31-4201 et seq. and§ 50-1901 et seq.

The term “this act” referred to twice near the end of the section refers to S.L. 1939, chapter 232, which is compiled as this section.

The words enclosed in parentheses so appeared in the law as enacted. Section 3 of S.L. 1939, ch. 232 provided as follows: “Insofar as the provisions of this act are inconsistent with the provisions of any other law, the provisions of this act shall be controlling.”

Effective Dates.

Section 4 of S.L. 1939, ch. 232 declared an emergency. Approved March 10, 1939.

§ 68-406. Life, endowment and annuity contracts — Investment of funds.

All guardians, trustees and other fiduciaries may legally invest any funds administered by them in any life, endowment or annuity contracts issued by any legal reserve life insurance company authorized to do business in the state of Idaho, it being the purpose of this act to authorize any private person, bank, trust company or other institution acting as guardian, trustee or fiduciary to invest funds coming into their possession or under their control as such guardian, trustee or fiduciary in any life, endowment, or annuity contracts issued by any legal reserve insurance company authorized to do business in the state of Idaho, when, in their opinion, it will be for the best interests of their wards or trust estate, provided, however, that whenever an order of the probate court or other court has been heretofore required by law for the investment of any funds being administered by such guardian, trustee or other fiduciary, then such order shall be required in cases of investment of funds under this act.

History.

1947, ch. 206, § 1, p. 482.

STATUTORY NOTES

Legislative Intent.

Section 2 of S.L. 1947, ch. 206, provided as follows: “Notwithstanding any other evidence of legislative intent, it is hereby declared to be the controlling legislative intent that if any provision of this act, or the application thereof to any person or circumstance, is held invalid, the remainder of the act and the application of such provision to person or circumstances other than those as to which it is held invalid, shall not be affected thereby.”

Compiler’s Notes.

The term “this act” near the middle and at the end of the section refers to S.L. 1947, chapter 206, which is compiled as this section.

Section 3 of S.L. 1947, ch. 206, provided as follows: “Insofar as the provisions of this act are inconsistent with the provisions of any other law, the provisions of this act shall be controlling.”

§ 68-407. Public and trust funds — Investment in port district obligations.

Notwithstanding the provisions of the Public Depository Law, or of any other statute of the state of Idaho to the contrary, it shall be lawful for the state of Idaho and any of its departments, institutions and agencies, municipalities, districts and political subdivisions, and for any political or public corporation of the state, and for any insurance company, savings and loan association, and for any bank, trust company or other financial institution operating under the laws of the state of Idaho, and for any executor, administrator, guardian or conservator, trustee or other fiduciary, to invest its funds or the moneys in its custody or possession eligible for investment, in any revenue bonds or warrants or general obligation bonds or general obligation refunding bonds issued by any port district of the state of Idaho.

History.

I.C.,§ 68-407, as added by S.L. 1967, ch. 325, § 1, p. 954.

STATUTORY NOTES

Cross References.

Banks as depositories,§ 67-2725 et seq.

Compiler’s Notes.

The Public Depository Law, referred to near the beginning of the section, is compiled as§ 57-101 et seq.

Effective Dates.

Section 2 of S.L. 1967, ch. 325 declared an emergency. Approved April 10, 1967.

Chapter 5 UNIFORM PRUDENT INVESTOR ACT

Sec.

§ 68-501. Prudent investor rule.

  1. Except as otherwise provided in subsection (2) of this section, a trustee who invests and manages trust assets owes a duty to the beneficiaries of the trust to comply with the prudent investor rule set forth in this act.
  2. The prudent investor rule, a default rule, may be expanded, restricted, eliminated or otherwise altered by the provisions of a trust. A trustee is not liable to a beneficiary to the extent that the trustee acted in reasonable reliance on the provisions of the trust.
History.

I.C.,§ 68-501, as added by S.L. 1997, ch. 14, § 2, p. 14.

STATUTORY NOTES

Prior Laws.

Former§§ 68-501 to 68-505, which comprised 1949, ch. 36 §§ 1 to 5, p. 59, were repealed by S.L. 1997, ch. 14, § 1, effective July 1, 1997.

Compiler’s Notes.

Following§§ 68-501 to 68-514, Uniform Prudent Investor Act, appear “Comments” which are the comments prepared by the National Conference of Commissioner on Uniform State Laws and approved by the American Bar Association February 14, 1995. They are reprinted with the permission of the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws.

In some instances the subsection, subdivision and other designations in the Idaho version of a section of the Idaho Uniform Prudent Investor Act are different than those of the official version. For instance§ 68-502 contains subsections (1) through (6) with subsection (3) containing subdivisions (a) through (h). The official version of this section 2 of the uniform act contains subsections (a) through (f) with subsection (c) containing subdivisions (1) through (8). Therefore a reference in the comments to (c) (4) would be a reference to subsection (3) (d) in the Idaho version.

The Idaho legislature in adopting the Uniform Prudent Investor Act did not adopt § 14 — Severability, or § 15— Effective Date. Section 68-914, Idaho Code is not contained in the Uniform Prudent Investor Act as adopted by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws.

The term “this act” at the end of subsection (1) refers to S.L. 1997, chapter 14, which is compiled as§§ 27-408, 50-1013A, 59-1312, and 68-501 to 68-514. The reference probably should read “this chapter,” being chapter 5, title 68, Idaho Code.

RESEARCH REFERENCES

Am. Jur. 2d.

C.J.S. — 80 C.J.S., Trusts, §§ 323, 482.

C.J.S.

This section imposes the obligation of prudence in the conduct of investment functions and identifies further sections of the Act that specify the attributes of prudent conduct.

Origins.

Origins. The prudence standard for trust investing traces back to Harvard College v. Amory, 26 Mass. (9 Pick.) 446 (1830). Trustees should “observe how men of prudence, discretion and intelligence manage their own affairs, not in regard to speculation, but in regard to the permanent disposition of their funds, considering the probable income, as well as the probable safety of the capital to be invested.” Id. at 461.

Prior legislation.

Prior legislation. The Model Prudent Man Rule Statute (1942), sponsored by the American Bankers Association, undertook to codify the language of the Amory case. See Mayo A. Shattuck, The Development of the Prudent Man Rule for Fiduciary Investment in the United States in the Twentieth Century, 12 Ohio State L.J. 491, at 501 (1951); for the text of the model act, which inspired many state statutes, see id. at 508-09. Another prominent codification of the Amory standard is Uniform Probate Code§ 7-302 (1969), which provides that “the trustee shall observe the standards in dealing with the trust assets that would be observed by a prudent man dealing with the property of another . . . .”

Congress has imposed a comparable prudence standard for the administration of pension and employee benefit trusts in the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), enacted in 1974. ERISA § 404(a)(1)(B), 29 U.S.C. § 1104(a), provides that “a fiduciary shall discharge his duties with respect to a plan solely in the interest of the participants and beneficiaries and . . . with the care, skill, prudence, and diligence under the circumstances then prevailing that a prudent man acting in a like capacity and familiar with such matters would use in the conduct of an enterprise of like character and with like aims . . . .”

Prior Restatement.

Prior Restatement. The Restatement of Trusts 2d (1959) also tracked the language of the Amory case: “In making investments of trust funds the trustee is under a duty to the beneficiary . . . to make such investments and only such investments as a prudent man would make of his own property having in view the preservation of the estate and the amount and regularity of the income to be derived . . . .” Restatement of Trusts 2d § 227 (1959).

Objective standard.
Variation.

Variation. Almost all of the rules of trust law are default rules, that is, rules that the settlor may alter or abrogate. Subsection (b) carries forward this traditional attribute of trust law. Traditional trust law also allows the beneficiaries of the trust to excuse its performance, when they are all capable and not misinformed. Restatement of Trusts 2d § 216 (1959).

§ 68-502. Standard of care — Portfolio strategy — Risk and return objectives.

  1. A trustee shall invest and manage trust assets as a prudent investor would, by considering the purposes, terms, distribution requirements and other circumstances of the trust. In satisfying this standard, the trustee shall exercise reasonable care, skill and caution.
  2. A trustee’s investment and management decisions respecting individual assets must be evaluated not in isolation but in the context of the trust portfolio as a whole and as a part of an overall investment strategy having risk and return objectives reasonably suited to the trust.
  3. Among circumstances that a trustee shall consider in investing and managing trust assets are such of the following as are relevant to the trust or its beneficiaries:
    1. General economic conditions;
    2. The possible effect of inflation or deflation;
    3. The expected tax consequences of investment decisions or strategies;
    4. The role that each investment or course of action plays within the overall trust portfolio, which may include financial assets, interests in closely held enterprises, tangible and intangible personal property, and real property;
    5. The expected total return from income and the appreciation of capital;
    6. Other resources of the beneficiaries;
    7. Needs for liquidity, regularity of income and preservation or appreciation of capital; and
    8. An asset’s special relationship or special value, if any, to the purposes of the trust or to one (1) or more of the beneficiaries.
  4. A trustee shall make a reasonable effort to verify facts relevant to the investment and management of trust assets.
  5. A trustee may invest in any kind of property or type of investment consistent with the standards of this act.
  6. A trustee who has special skills or expertise, or is named trustee in reliance upon the trustee’s representation that the trustee has special skills or expertise, has a duty to use those special skills or expertise.
History.

I.C.,§ 68-502, as added by S.L. 1997, ch. 14, § 2, p. 14.

STATUTORY NOTES

Prior Laws.

Former§ 68-502 was repealed. See Prior Laws,§ 68-501.

Compiler’s Notes.

The term “this act” at the end of subsection (5) refers to S.L. 1997, chapter 14, which is compiled as§§ 27-408, 50-1013A, 59-1312, and 68-501 to 68-514. The reference probably should read “this chapter,” being chapter 5, title 68, Idaho Code.

OPINIONS OF ATTORNEY GENERAL

Fees.

As a condition of its investment through the credit enhancement program (CEP), the endowment fund investment board (EFIB) correctly imposed fees to offset the projected loss of return to the public school endowment caused by the narrowing of investment opportunities, necessitated by the balancing of the investments represented by the CEP and the maximum long-term return to the endowment.OAG 10-1.

Official Comment

Section 2 is the heart of the Act. Subsections (a), (b), and (c) are patterned loosely on the language of the Restatement of Trusts 3d: Prudent Investor Rule § 227 (1992), and on the 1991 Illinois statute, 760 § ILCS 5/5a (1992). Subsection (f) is derived from Uniform Probate Code§ 7-302 (1969).

Objective standard.

Objective standard. Subsection (a) of this Act carries forward the relational and objective standard made familiar in the Amory case, in earlier prudent investor legislation, and in the Restatements. Early formulations of the prudent person rule were sometimes troubled by the effort to distinguish between the standard of a prudent person investing for another and investing on his or her own account. The language of subsection (a), by relating the trustee’s duty to “the purposes, terms, distribution requirements, and other circumstances of the trust,” should put such questions to rest. The standard is the standard of the prudent investor similarly situated.

Portfolio standard.

Portfolio standard. Subsection (b) emphasizes the consolidated portfolio standard for evaluating investment decisions. An investment that might be imprudent standing alone can become prudent if undertaken in sensible relation to other trust assets, or to other nontrust assets. In the trust setting the term “portfolio” embraces the entire trust estate.

Risk and return.

Risk and return. Subsection (b) also sounds the main theme of modern investment practice, sensitivity to the risk/return curve. See generally the works cited in the Prefatory Note to this Act, under “Literature.” Returns correlate strongly with risk, but tolerance for risk varies greatly with the financial and other circumstances of the investor, or in the case of a trust, with the purposes of the trust and the relevant circumstances of the beneficiaries. A trust whose main purpose is to support an elderly widow of modest means will have a lower risk tolerance than a trust to accumulate for a young scion of great wealth.

Subsection (b) of this Act follows Restatement of Trusts 3d: Prudent Investor Rule § 227(a), which provides that the standard of prudent investing “requires the exercise of reasonable care, skill, and caution, and is to be applied to investments not in isolation but in the context of the trust portfolio and as a part of an overall investment strategy, which should incorporate risk and return objectives reasonably suitable to the trust.”

Factors affecting investment.

Factors affecting investment. Subsection (c) points to certain of the factors that commonly bear on risk/return preferences in fiduciary investing. This listing is nonexclusive. Tax considerations, such as preserving the stepped up basis on death under Internal Revenue Code § 1014 for low-basis assets, have traditionally been exceptionally important in estate planning for affluent persons. Under the present recognition rules of the federal income tax, taxable investors, including trust beneficiaries, are in general best served by an investment strategy that minimizes the taxation incident to portfolio turnover. See generally Robert H. Jeffrey & Robert D. Arnott, Is Your Alpha Big Enough to Cover Its Taxes?, Journal of Portfolio Management 15 (Spring 1993). Another familiar example of how tax considerations bear upon trust investing: In a regime of pass-through taxation, it may be prudent for the trust to buy lower yielding tax-exempt securities for high-bracket taxpayers, whereas it would ordinarily be imprudent for the trustees of a charitable trust, whose income is tax exempt, to accept the lowered yields associated with tax-exempt securities.

When tax considerations affect beneficiaries differently, the trustee’s duty of impartiality requires attention to the competing interests of each of them.

Subsection (c)(8), allowing the trustee to take into account any preferences of the beneficiaries respecting heirlooms or other prized assets, derives from the Illinois act, 760 ILCS § 5/5(a)(4) (1992).

Duty to monitor.

Duty to monitor. Subsections (a) through (d) apply both to investing and managing trust assets. “Managing” embraces monitoring, that is, the trustee’s continuing responsibility for oversight of the suitability of investments already made as well as the trustee’s decisions respecting new investments.

Duty to investigate.

Duty to investigate. Subsection (d) carries forward the traditional responsibility of the fiduciary investor to examine information likely to bear importantly on the value or the security of an investment — for example, audit reports or records of title. E.g., Estate of Collins, 72 Cal. App. 3d 663, 139 Cal. Rptr. 644 (1977) (trustees lent on a junior mortgage on unimproved real estate, failed to have land appraised, and accepted an unaudited financial statement; held liable for losses).

Abrogating categoric restrictions.

Abrogating categoric restrictions. Subsection 2(e) clarifies that no particular kind of property or type of investment is inherently imprudent. Traditional trust law was encumbered with a variety of categoric exclusions, such as prohibitions on junior mortgages or new ventures. In some states legislation created so-called “legal lists” of approved trust investments. The universe of investment products changes incessantly. Investments that were at one time thought too risky, such as equities, or more recently, futures, are now used in fiduciary portfolios. By contrast, the investment that was at one time thought ideal for trusts, the long-term bond, has been discovered to import a level of risk and volatility — in this case, inflation risk — that had not been anticipated. Accordingly, section 2(e) of this Act follows Restatement of Trusts 3d: Prudent Investor Rule in abrogating categoric restrictions. The Restatement says: “Specific investments or techniques are not per se prudent or imprudent. The riskiness of a specific property, and thus the propriety of its inclusion in the trust estate, is not judged in the abstract but in terms of its anticipated effect on the particular trust’s portfolio.” Restatement of Trusts 3d: Prudent Investor Rule § 227, Comment f, at 24 (1992). The premise of subsection 2(e) is that trust beneficiaries are better protected by the Act’s emphasis on close attention to risk/return objectives as prescribed in subsection 2(b) than in attempts to identify categories of investment that are per se prudent or imprudent.

The Act impliedly disavows the emphasis in older law on avoiding “speculative” or “risky” investments. Low levels of risk may be appropriate in some trust settings but inappropriate in others. It is the trustee’s task to invest at a risk level that is suitable to the purposes of the trust.

Professional fiduciaries.

The abolition of categoric restrictions against types of investment in no way alters the trustee’s conventional duty of loyalty, which is reiterated for the purposes of this Act in Section 5. For example, were the trustee to invest in a second mortgage on a piece of real property owned by the trustee, the investment would be wrongful on account of the trustee’s breach of the duty to abstain from self-dealing, even though the investment would no longer automatically offend the former categoric restriction against fiduciary investments in junior mortgages. Professional fiduciaries. The distinction taken in subsection (f) between amateur and professional trustees is familiar law. The prudent investor standard applies to a range of fiduciaries, from the most sophisticated professional investment management firms and corporate fiduciaries, to family members of minimal experience. Because the standard of prudence is relational, it follows that the standard for professional trustees is the standard of prudent professionals; for amateurs, it is the standard of prudent amateurs. Restatement of Trusts 2d § 174 (1959) provides: “The trustee is under a duty to the beneficiary in administering the trust to exercise such care and skill as a man of ordinary prudence would exercise in dealing with his own property; and if the trustee has or procures his appointment as trustee by representing that he has greater skill than that of a man of ordinary prudence, he is under a duty to exercise such skill.” Case law strongly supports the concept of the higher standard of care for the trustee representing itself to be expert or professional. See Annot., Standard of Care Required of Trustee Representing Itself to Have Expert Knowledge or Skill, 91 A.L.R. 3d 904 (1979) & 1992 Supp. at 48-49.

The Drafting Committee declined the suggestion that the Act should create an exception to the prudent investor rule (or to the diversification requirement of Section 3) in the case of smaller trusts. The Committee believes that subsections (b) and (c) of the Act emphasize factors that are sensitive to the traits of small trusts; and that subsection (f) adjusts helpfully for the distinction between professional and amateur trusteeship. Furthermore, it is always open to the settlor of a trust under Section 1(b) of the Act to reduce the trustee’s standard of care if the settlor deems such a step appropriate. The official comments to the 1992 Restatement observe that pooled investments, such as mutual funds and bank common trust funds, are especially suitable for small trusts. Restatement of Trusts 3d: Prudent Investor Rule § 227, Comments h, m, at 28, 51; reporter’s note to Comment g, id. at 83.

Matters of proof.

Matters of proof. Although virtually all express trusts are created by written instrument, oral trusts are known, and accordingly, this Act presupposes no formal requirement that trust terms be in writing. When there is a written trust instrument, modern authority strongly favors allowing evidence extrinsic to the instrument to be consulted for the purpose of ascertaining the settlor’s intent. See Uniform Probate Code§ 2-601 (1990), Comment; Restatement (Third) of Property: Donative Transfers (Preliminary Draft No. 2, ch. 11, Sept. 11, 1992).

§ 68-503. Diversification.

A trustee shall diversify the investments of the trust unless the trustee reasonably determines that, because of special circumstances, the purposes of the trust are better served without diversifying.

History.

I.C.,§ 68-503, as added by 1997, ch. 14, § 2, p. 14.

STATUTORY NOTES

Prior Laws.

Former§ 68-503 was repealed. See Prior Laws,§ 68-510.

Official Comment

The language of this section derives from Restatement of Trusts 2d § 228 (1959). ERISA insists upon a comparable rule for pension trusts. ERISA § 404(a)(1)(C), 29 U.S.C. § 1104(a)(1)(C). Case law overwhelmingly supports the duty to diversify. See Annot., Duty of Trustee to Diversify Investments, and Liability for Failure to Do So, 24 A.L.R. 3d 730 (1969) & 1992 Supp. at 78-79.

The 1992 Restatement of Trusts takes the significant step of integrating the diversification requirement into the concept of prudent investing. Section 227(b) of the 1992 Restatement treats diversification as one of the fundamental elements of prudent investing, replacing the separate section 228 of the Restatement of Trusts 2d. The message of the 1992 Restatement, carried forward in Section 3 of this Act, is that prudent investing ordinarily requires diversification.

Circumstances can, however, overcome the duty to diversify. For example, if a tax-sensitive trust owns an underdiversified block of low-basis securities, the tax costs of recognizing the gain may outweigh the advantages of diversifying the holding. The wish to retain a family business is another situation in which the purposes of the trust sometimes override the conventional duty to diversify.

Rationale for diversification.

Rationale for diversification. “Diversification reduces risk . . . [because] stock price movements are not uniform. They are imperfectly correlated. This means that if one holds a well diversified portfolio, the gains in one investment will cancel out the losses in another.” Jonathan R. Macey, An Introduction to Modern Financial Theory 20 (American College of Trust and Estate Counsel Foundation, 1991). For example, during the Arab oil embargo of 1973, international oil stocks suffered declines, but the shares of domestic oil producers and coal companies benefitted. Holding a broad enough portfolio allowed the investor to set off, to some extent, the losses associated with the embargo.

Modern portfolio theory divides risk into the categories of “compensated” and “uncompensated” risk. The risk of owning shares in a mature and well-managed company in a settled industry is less than the risk of owning shares in a start-up high-technology venture. The investor requires a higher expected return to induce the investor to bear the greater risk of disappointment associated with the start-up firm. This is compensated risk — the firm pays the investor for bearing the risk. By contrast, nobody pays the investor for owning too few stocks. The investor who owned only international oils in 1973 was running a risk that could have been reduced by having configured the portfolio differently — to include investments in different industries. This is uncompensated risk — nobody pays the investor for owning shares in too few industries and too few companies. Risk that can be eliminated by adding different stocks (or bonds) is uncompensated risk. The object of diversification is to minimize this uncompensated risk of having too few investments. “As long as stock prices do not move exactly together, the risk of a diversified portfolio will be less than the average risk of the separate holdings.” R.A. Brealey, An Introduction to Risk and Return from Common Stocks 103 (2d ed. 1983). There is no automatic rule for identifying how much diversification is enough. The 1992 Restatement says: “Significant diversification advantages can be achieved with a small number of well-selected securities representing different industries . . . . Broader diversification is usually to be preferred in trust investing,” and pooled investment vehicles “make thorough diversification practical for most trustees.” Restatement of Trusts 3d: Prudent Investor Rule § 227, General Note on Comments e-h, at 77 (1992). See also Macey, supra, at 23-24; Brealey, supra, at 111-13.

Diversifying by pooling.

Diversifying by pooling. It is difficult for a small trust fund to diversify thoroughly by constructing its own portfolio of individually selected investments. Transaction costs such as the round-lot (100 share) trading economies make it relatively expensive for a small investor to assemble a broad enough portfolio to minimize uncompensated risk. For this reason, pooled investment vehicles have become the main mechanism for facilitating diversification for the investment needs of smaller trusts.

Most states have legislation authorizing common trust funds; see 3 Austin W. Scott & William F. Fratcher, The Law of Trusts § 227.9, at 463-65 n.26 (4th ed. 1988) (collecting citations to state statutes). As of 1992, 35 states and the District of Columbia had enacted the Uniform Common Trust Fund Act (UCTFA) (1938), overcoming the rule against commingling trust assets and expressly enabling banks and trust companies to establish common trust funds. 7 Uniform Laws Ann. 1992 Supp. at 130 (schedule of adopting states). The Prefatory Note to the UCTFA explains: “The purposes of such a common or joint investment fund are to diversify the investment of the several trusts and thus spread the risk of loss, and to make it easy to invest any amount of trust funds quickly and with a small amount of trouble.” 7 Uniform Laws Ann. 402 (1985).

Fiduciary investing in mutual funds. Trusts can also achieve diversification by investing in mutual funds. See Restatement of Trusts 3d: Prudent Investor Rule, § 227, Comment m, at 99-100 (1992) (endorsing trust investment in mutual funds). ERISA § 401(b)(1), 29 U.S.C. § 1101(b)(1), expressly authorizes pension trusts to invest in mutual funds, identified as securities “issued by an investment company registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 . . . .”

§ 68-504. Duties at inception of trusteeship.

Within a reasonable time after accepting a trusteeship or receiving trust assets, a trustee shall review the trust assets and make and implement decisions concerning the retention and disposition of assets, in order to bring the trust portfolio into compliance with the purposes, terms, distribution requirements, and other circumstances of the trust, and with the requirements of this act.

History.

I.C.,§ 68-504, as added by 1997, ch. 14, § 2, p. 14.

STATUTORY NOTES

Prior Laws.

Former§ 68-504 was repealed. See Prior Laws,§ 68-501.

Compiler’s Notes.

The term “this act” at the end of this section refers to S.L. 1997, chapter 14, which is compiled as§§ 27-408, 50-1013A, 59-1312, and 68-501 to 68-514. The reference probably should read “this chapter,” being chapter 5, title 68, Idaho Code.

Official Comment

Section 4, requiring the trustee to dispose of unsuitable assets within a reasonable time, is old law, codified in Restatement of Trusts 3d: Prudent Investor Rule § 229 (1992), lightly revising Restatement of Trusts 2d § 230 (1959). The duty extends as well to investments that were proper when purchased but subsequently become improper. Restatement of Trusts 2d § 231 (1959). The same standards apply to successor trustees, see Restatement of Trusts 2d § 196 (1959).

The question of what period of time is reasonable turns on the totality of factors affecting the asset and the trust. The 1959 Restatement took the view that “[o]rdinarily any time within a year is reasonable, but under some circumstances a year may be too long a time and under other circumstances a trustee is not liable although he fails to effect the conversion for more than a year.” Restatement of Trusts 2d § 230, comment b (1959). The 1992 Restatement retreated from this rule of thumb, saying, “No positive rule can be stated with respect to what constitutes a reasonable time for the sale or exchange of securities.” Restatement of Trusts 3d: Prudent Investor Rule § 229, comment b (1992).

The criteria and circumstances identified in Section 2 of this Act as bearing upon the prudence of decisions to invest and manage trust assets also pertain to the prudence of decisions to retain or dispose of inception assets under this section.

§ 68-505. Loyalty.

A trustee shall invest and manage the trust assets solely in the interest of the beneficiaries.

History.

I.C.,§ 68-505, as added by 1997, ch. 14, § 2, p. 14.

STATUTORY NOTES

Prior Laws.

Former§ 68-505 was repealed. See Prior Laws,§ 68-501.

Official Comment

The duty of loyalty is perhaps the most characteristic rule of trust law, requiring the trustee to act exclusively for the beneficiaries, as opposed to acting for the trustee’s own interest or that of third parties. The language of Section 4 of this Act derives from Restatement of Trusts 3d: Prudent Investor Rule § 170 (1992), which makes minute changes in Restatement of Trusts 2d § 170 (1959).

The concept that the duty of prudence in trust administration, especially in investing and managing trust assets, entails adherence to the duty of loyalty is familiar. ERISA § 404(a)(1)(B), 29 U.S.C. § 1104(a)(1)(B), extracted in the Comment to Section 1 of this Act, effectively merges the requirements of prudence and loyalty. A fiduciary cannot be prudent in the conduct of investment functions if the fiduciary is sacrificing the interests of the beneficiaries.

The duty of loyalty is not limited to settings entailing self-dealing or conflict of interest in which the trustee would benefit personally from the trust. “The trustee is under a duty to the beneficiary in administering the trust not to be guided by the interest of any third person. Thus, it is improper for the trustee to sell trust property to a third person for the purpose of benefitting the third person rather than the trust.” Restatement of Trusts 2d § 170, comment q, at 371 (1959).

No form of so-called “social investing” is consistent with the duty of loyalty if the investment activity entails sacrificing the interests of trust beneficiaries — for example, by accepting below-market returns — in favor of the interests of the persons supposedly benefitted by pursuing the particular social cause. See, e.g., John H. Langbein & Richard Posner, Social Investing and the Law of Trusts, 79 Michigan L. Rev. 72, 96-97 (1980) (collecting authority). For pension trust assets, see generally Ian D. Lanoff, The Social Investment of Private Pension Plan Assets: May it Be Done Lawfully under ERISA?, 31 Labor L.J. 387 (1980). Commentators supporting social investing tend to concede the overriding force of the duty of loyalty. They argue instead that particular schemes of social investing may not result in below-market returns. See, e.g., Marcia O’Brien Hylton, “Socially Responsible” Investing: Doing Good Versus Doing Well in an Inefficient Market, 42 American U.L. Rev. 1 (1992). In 1994 the Department of Labor issued an Interpretive Bulletin reviewing its prior analysis of social investing questions and reiterating that pension trust fiduciaries may invest only in conformity with the prudence and loyalty standards of ERISA§§ 403-404. Interpretive Bulletin94-1, 59 Fed. Regis. 32606 (Jun. 22, 1994), to be codified as 29 CFR § 2509.94-1. The Bulletin reminds fiduciary investors that they are prohibited from “subordinat[ing] the interests of participants and beneficiaries in their retirement income to unrelated objectives.”

§ 68-506. Impartiality.

If a trust has two (2) or more beneficiaries, the trustee shall act impartially in investing and managing the trust assets, taking into account any differing interests of the beneficiaries.

History.

I.C.,§ 68-506, as added by 1997, ch. 14, § 2, p. 14.

STATUTORY NOTES

Prior Laws.

Former§ 68-506, which comprised I.C.,§ 68-506, as added by 1963, ch. 303, § 1, p. 793, am. 1965, ch. 11, § 1, p. 20, was repealed by S.L. 1997, ch. 14, § 1, effective July 1, 1997.

Official Comment

The duty of impartiality derives from the duty of loyalty. When the trustee owes duties to more than one beneficiary, loyalty requires the trustee to respect the interests of all the beneficiaries. Prudence in investing and administration requires the trustee to take account of the interests of all the beneficiaries for whom the trustee is acting, especially the conflicts between the interests of beneficiaries interested in income and those interested in principal.

The language of Section 6 derives from Restatement of Trusts 2d § 183 (1959); see also id., § 232. Multiple beneficiaries may be beneficiaries in succession (such as life and remainder interests) or beneficiaries with simultaneous interests (as when the income interest in a trust is being divided among several beneficiaries).

The trustee’s duty of impartiality commonly affects the conduct of investment and management functions in the sphere of principal and income allocations. This Act prescribes no regime for allocating receipts and expenses. The details of such allocations are commonly handled under specialized legislation, such as the Revised Uniform Principal and Income Act (1962) (which is presently under study by the Uniform Law Commission with a view toward further revision).

§ 68-507. Investment costs.

In investing and managing trust assets, a trustee may only incur costs that are appropriate and reasonable in relation to the assets, the purposes of the trust, and the skills of the trustee.

History.

I.C.,§ 68-507, as added by 1997, ch. 14, § 2, p. 14.

Official Comment

Wasting beneficiaries’ money is imprudent. In devising and implementing strategies for the investment and management of trust assets, trustees are obliged to minimize costs.

The language of Section 7 derives from Restatement of Trusts 2d § 188 (1959). The Restatement of Trusts 3d says: “Concerns over compensation and other charges are not an obstacle to a reasonable course of action using mutual funds and other pooling arrangements, but they do require special attention by a trustee. . . . [I]t is important for trustees to make careful cost comparisons, particularly among similar products of a specific type being considered for a trust portfolio.” Restatement of Trusts 3d: Prudent Investor Rule § 227, comment m, at 58 (1992).

§ 68-508. Reviewing compliance.

Compliance with the prudent investor rule is determined in light of the facts and circumstances existing at the time of a trustee’s decision or action and not by hindsight.

History.

I.C.,§ 68-508, as added by 1997, ch. 14, § 2, p. 14.

Official Comment

This section derives from the 1991 Illinois act, 760 ILCS 5/5(a)(2) (1992), which draws upon Restatement of Trusts 3d: Prudent Investor Rule § 227, comment b, at 11 (1992). Trustees are not insurers. Not every investment or management decision will turn out in the light of hindsight to have been successful. Hindsight is not the relevant standard. In the language of law and economics, the standard is ex ante, not ex post.

§ 68-509. Delegation of investment and management functions.

  1. A trustee may delegate investment and management functions that a prudent trustee of comparable skills could properly delegate under the circumstances. The trustee shall exercise reasonable care, skill and caution in:
    1. Selecting an agent;
    2. Establishing the scope and terms of the delegation, consistent with the purposes and terms of the trust; and
    3. Periodically reviewing the agent’s actions in order to monitor the agent’s performance and compliance with the terms of the delegation.
  2. In performing a delegated function, an agent owes a duty to the trust to exercise reasonable care to comply with the terms of the delegation.
  3. A trustee who complies with the requirements of subsection (1) of this section is not liable to the beneficiaries or to the trust for the decisions or actions of the agent to whom the function was delegated.
  4. By accepting the delegation of a trust function from the trustee of a trust that is subject to the law of the state of Idaho, an agent submits to the jurisdiction of the courts of this state.
History.

I.C.,§ 68-509, as added by 1997, ch. 14, § 2, p. 14.

RESEARCH REFERENCES

A.L.R.

A.L.R. — When is attorney, accountant, or other professional service provider fiduciary within meaning of § 3(21)(A)(i) or (iii) or Employee Retirement Income Security Act (29 U.S.C.A. § 1002(21)(A)(i) or (iii)). 166 A.L.R. Fed. 595.

When is bank or other financial institution fiduciary within meaning of § 3(21)(A)(i) or (iii) of Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C.A. § 1002(21)(A)(i) or (iii)). 166 A.L.R. Fed. 671.

Official Comment

This section of the Act reverses the much-criticized rule that forbad trustees to delegate investment and management functions. The language of this section is derived from Restatement of Trusts 3d: Prudent Investor Rule § 171 (1992), discussed infra, and from the 1991 Illinois act, 760 ILCS § 5/5.1(b), (c) (1992).

Former law.

Former law. The former nondelegation rule survived into the 1959 Restatement: “The trustee is under a duty to the beneficiary not to delegate to others the doing of acts which the trustee can reasonably be required personally to perform.” The rule put a premium on the frequently arbitrary task of distinguishing discretionary functions that were thought to be nondelegable from supposedly ministerial functions that the trustee was allowed to delegate. Restatement of Trusts 2d § 171 (1959).

The Restatement of Trusts 2d admitted in a comment that “There is not a clear-cut line dividing the acts which a trustee can properly delegate from those which he cannot properly delegate.” Instead, the comment directed attention to a list of factors that “may be of importance: (1) the amount of discretion involved; (2) the value and character of the property involved; (3) whether the property is principal or income; (4) the proximity or remoteness of the subject matter of the trust; (5) the character of the act as one involving professional skill or facilities possessed or not possessed by the trustee himself.” Restatement of Trusts 2d § 171, comment d (1959). The 1959 Restatement further said: “A trustee cannot properly delegate to another power to select investments.” Restatement of Trusts 2d § 171, comment h (1959). For discussion and criticism of the former rule see William L. Cary & Craig B. Bright, The Delegation of Investment Responsibility for Endowment Funds, 74 Columbia L. Rev. 207 (1974); John H. Langbein & Richard A. Posner, Market Funds and Trust-Investment Law, 1976 American Bar Foundation Research J. 1, 18-24.

The modern trend to favor delegation.

The modern trend to favor delegation. The trend of subsequent legislation, culminating in the Restatement of Trusts 3d: Prudent Investor Rule, has been strongly hostile to the nondelegation rule. See John H. Langbein, Reversing the Nondelegation Rule of Trust-Investment Law, 59 Missouri L. Rev. 105 (1994).

The delegation rule of the Uniform Trustee Powers Act.

The delegation rule of the Uniform Trustee Powers Act. The Uniform Trustee Powers Act (1964) effectively abrogates the nondelegation rule. It authorizes trustees “to employ persons, including attorneys, auditors, investment advisors, or agents, even if they are associated with the trustee, to advise or assist the trustee in the performance of his administrative duties; to act without independent investigation upon their recommendations; and instead of acting personally, to employ one or more agents to perform any act of administration, whether or not discretionary . . . .” Uniform Trustee Powers Act § 3(24), 7B Uniform Laws Ann. 743 (1985). The Act has been enacted in 16 states, see “Record of Passage of Uniform and Model Acts as of September 30, 1993,” 1993-94 Reference Book of Uniform Law Commissioners (unpaginated, following page 111) (1993).

UMIFA’s delegation rule.

UMIFA’s delegation rule. The Uniform Management of Institutional Funds Act (1972) (UMIFA), authorizes the governing boards of eleemosynary institutions, who are trustee-like fiduciaries, to delegate investment matters either to a committee of the board or to outside investment advisors, investment counsel, managers, banks, or trust companies. UMIFA § 5, 7A Uniform Laws Ann. 705 (1985). UMIFA has been enacted in 38 states, see “Record of Passage of Uniform and Model Acts as of September 30, 1993,” 1993-94 Reference Book of Uniform Law Commissioners (unpaginated, following page 111) (1993).

ERISA’s delegation rule.

ERISA’s delegation rule. The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, the federal statute that prescribes fiduciary standards for investing the assets of pension and employee benefit plans, allows a pension or employee benefit plan to provide that “authority to manage, acquire or dispose of assets of the plan is delegated to one or more investment managers . . . .” ERISA § 403(a)(2), 29 U.S.C. § 1103(a)(2). Commentators have explained the rationale for ERISA’s encouragement of delegation:

ERISA . . . invites the dissolution of unitary trusteeship. . . . ERISA’s fractionation of traditional trusteeship reflects the complexity of the modern pension trust. Because millions, even billions of dollars can be involved, great care is required in investing and safekeeping plan assets. Administering such plans — computing and honoring benefit entitlements across decades of employment and retirement — is also a complex business. . . . Since, however, neither the sponsor nor any other single entity has a comparative advantage in performing all these functions, the tendency has been for pension plans to use a variety of specialized providers. A consulting actuary, a plan administration firm, or an insurance company may oversee the design of a plan and arrange for processing benefit claims. Investment industry professionals manage the portfolio (the largest plans spread their pension investments among dozens of money management firms). John H. Langbein & Bruce A. Wolk, Pension and Employee Benefit Law 496 (1990).

The delegation rule of the 1992 Restatement.

The delegation rule of the 1992 Restatement. The Restatement of Trusts 3d: Prudent Investor Rule (1992) repeals the nondelegation rule of Restatement of Trusts 2d § 171 (1959), extracted supra, and replaces it with substitute text that reads:

§ 171. Duty with Respect to Delegation. A trustee has a duty personally to perform the responsibilities of trusteeship except as a prudent person might delegate those responsibilities to others. In deciding whether, to whom, and in what manner to delegate fiduciary authority in the administration of a trust, and thereafter in supervising agents, the trustee is under a duty to the beneficiaries to exercise fiduciary discretion and to act as a prudent person would act in similar circumstances.

Restatement of Trusts 3d: Prudent Investor Rule § 171 (1992). The 1992 Restatement integrates this delegation standard into the prudent investor rule of section 227, providing that “the trustee must . . . act with prudence in deciding whether and how to delegate to others . . . .” Restatement of Trusts 3d: Prudent Investor Rule § 227(c) (1992).

Protecting the beneficiary against unreasonable delegation.

Section 9 of the Uniform Prudent Investor Act is designed to strike the appropriate balance between the advantages and the hazards of delegation. Section 9 authorizes delegation under the limitations of subsections (a) and (b). Section 9(a) imposes duties of care, skill, and caution on the trustee in selecting the agent, in establishing the terms of the delegation, and in reviewing the agent’s compliance.

The trustee’s duties of care, skill, and caution in framing the terms of the delegation should protect the beneficiary against overbroad delegation. For example, a trustee could not prudently agree to an investment management agreement containing an exculpation clause that leaves the trust without recourse against reckless mismanagement. Leaving one’s beneficiaries remediless against willful wrongdoing is inconsistent with the duty to use care and caution in formulating the terms of the delegation. This sense that it is imprudent to expose beneficiaries to broad exculpation clauses underlies both federal and state legislation restricting exculpation clauses, e.g., ERISA §§ 404(a)(1)(D), 410(a), 29 U.S.C. §§ 1104(a)(1)(D), 1110(a); New York Est. Powers Trusts Law § 11-1.7 (McKinney 1967).

Costs.

Although subsection (c) of the Act exonerates the trustee from personal responsibility for the agent’s conduct when the delegation satisfies the standards of subsection 9(a), subsection 9(b) makes the agent responsible to the trust. The beneficiaries of the trust can, therefore, rely upon the trustee to enforce the terms of the delegation. Costs. The duty to minimize costs that is articulated in Section 7 of this Act applies to delegation as well as to other aspects of fiduciary investing. In deciding whether to delegate, the trustee must balance the projected benefits against the likely costs. Similarly, in deciding how to delegate, the trustee must take costs into account. The trustee must be alert to protect the beneficiary from “double dipping.” If, for example, the trustee’s regular compensation schedule presupposes that the trustee will conduct the investment management function, it should ordinarily follow that the trustee will lower its fee when delegating the investment function to an outside manager.

§ 68-510. Language invoking standard of act.

The following terms or comparable language in the provisions of a trust, unless otherwise limited or modified, authorizes any investment or strategy permitted under this act: “investments permissible by law for investment of trust funds,” “legal investments,” “authorized investments,” “using the judgment and care under the circumstances then prevailing that persons of prudence, discretion, and intelligence exercise in the management of their own affairs, not in regard to speculation but in regard to the permanent disposition of their funds, considering the probable income as well as the probable safety of their capital,” “prudent man rule,” “prudent trustee rule,” “prudent person rule” and “prudent investor rule.”

History.

I.C.,§ 68-510, as added by 1997, ch. 14, § 2, p. 14.

STATUTORY NOTES

Compiler’s Notes.

The term “this act” near the beginning of the section refers to S.L. 1997, chapter 14, which is compiled as§§ 27-408, 50-1013A, 59-1312, and 68-501 to 68-514. The reference probably should read “this chapter,” being chapter 5, title 68, Idaho Code.

Official Comment

This provision is taken from the Illinois act, 760 ILCS § 5/5(d) (1992), and is meant to facilitate incorporation of the Act by means of the formulaic language commonly used in trust instruments.

§ 68-511. Application to existing trusts.

This act applies to trusts existing on and created after its effective date. As applied to trusts existing on its effective dates [date], this act governs only decisions or actions occurring after that date.

History.

I.C.,§ 68-511, as added by 1997, ch. 14, § 2, p. 14.

STATUTORY NOTES

Compiler’s Notes.

The term “this act” refers to S.L. 1997, chapter 14, which is compiled as§§ 27-408, 50-1013A, 59-1312, and 68-501 to 68-514. The reference probably should read “this chapter,” being chapter 5, title 68, Idaho Code.

The bracketed insertion in the second sentence was added by the compiler to conform to the uniform act and to correct the enacting legislation. S.L. 1997, chapter 14 was effective July 1, 1997.

§ 68-512. Uniformity of application and construction.

This act shall be applied and construed to effectuate its general purpose to make uniform the law with respect to the subject of this act among the states enacting it.

History.

I.C.,§ 68-512, as added by 1997, ch. 14, § 2, p. 14.

STATUTORY NOTES

Compiler’s Notes.

The term “this act” refers to S.L. 1997, chapter 14, which is compiled as§§ 27-408, 50-1013A, 59-1312, and 68-501 to 68-514. The reference probably should read “this chapter,” being chapter 5, title 68, Idaho Code.

§ 68-513. Short title.

This act may be cited as the “Idaho Uniform Prudent Investor Act.”

History.

I.C.,§ 68-513, as added by 1997, ch. 14, § 2, p. 14.

STATUTORY NOTES

Compiler’s Notes.

The term “this act” refers to S.L. 1997, chapter 14, which is compiled as§§ 27-408, 50-1013A, 59-1312, and 68-501 to 68-514. The reference probably should read “this chapter,” being chapter 5, title 68, Idaho Code.

§ 68-514. Guardians and conservators.

The provisions of this act shall apply to and govern any bank, trust company or individual authorized and duly appointed by a court of competent jurisdiction, to act as a guardian or conservator under the laws of the state of Idaho.

History.

I.C.,§ 68-514, as added by 1997, ch. 14, § 2, p. 14; am. 2012, ch. 88, § 1, p. 245.

STATUTORY NOTES

Amendments.

The 2012 amendment, by ch. 88, added “and conservators” to the section heading and added “or conservator” in the text.

Compiler’s Notes.

The term “this act” refers to S.L. 1997, chapter 14, which is codified as§§ 27-408, 50-1013A, 59-1312, and 68-501 to 68-514. The reference probably should read “this chapter,” being chapter 5, title 68, Idaho Code.

Chapter 6 NOMINEE REGISTRATION ACT

Sec.

§ 68-601. Establishment of nominee registration.

Any bank or trust company acting as a fiduciary, whether alone or jointly with an individual or individuals, may, with the consent of the individual fiduciary or fiduciaries, if any (who are hereby authorized to give such consent), cause any bond, stock, mortgage, deed or other security or asset, real or personal, including a fractional interest thereof, held in any fiduciary capacity to be held in the name of a nominee or nominees of such bank or trust company without reference to or mention of the fiduciary relationship; provided, that the trust company’s records for and all reports or accounts rendered concerning the fiduciary relationship clearly show the ownership of the property by the bank or trust company and that the nominee or nominees of the bank or trust company indorse in blank, or execute a conveyance or assignment to the bank or trust company for, each item of property held in its name. A bank or trust company shall be responsible for the acts of any nominee with respect to any property held in the name of a nominee.

History.

1949, ch. 33, § 1, p. 56.

STATUTORY NOTES

Compiler’s Notes.

The words enclosed in parentheses so appeared in the law as enacted.

§ 68-602. Corporation’s duty to inquire into a transfer.

A corporation and its transfer agent shall be under no obligation to inquire into the propriety of a transfer of any stock or security held in a nominee’s name unless the corporation or transfer agent has actual knowledge of a breach of fiduciary duty in connection with assets so held.

History.

1949, ch. 33, § 2, p. 56.

§ 68-603. Short title.

This act may be cited as the Nominee Registration Act.

History.

1949, ch. 33, § 3, p. 56.

STATUTORY NOTES

Compiler’s Notes.

The term “this act” refers to S.L. 1949, chapter 33, which is compiled as§§ 68-601 to 68-603.

Section 4 of S.L. 1949, ch. 33 provided as follows: “If any provision of this act or the application thereof to any person or circumstances is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect the other provisions or applications of the act which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this act are declared to be severable.”

Section 5 of S.L. 1949, ch. 33, repealed all acts or parts of acts in conflict therewith.

Effective Dates.

Section 6 of S.L. 1949, ch. 33 declared an emergency and provided it should apply to fiduciary relationships then in existence or thereafter established. Approved February 5, 1949.

Chapter 7 UNIFORM COMMON TRUST FUND ACT

Sec.

§ 68-701. Establishment of common trust funds.

  1. Any bank or trust company, state or national, qualified to act as fiduciary in this state may establish common trust funds for the purpose of furnishing investments to itself as fiduciary, to an affiliated bank or trust company as fiduciary, or to itself or an affiliated bank or trust company and others, as co-fiduciaries; and may, as such fiduciary, affiliate of a fiduciary or co-fiduciary, or co-fiduciary, invest funds which it lawfully holds for investment in interests in such common trust funds administered by itself or by any affiliated bank or trust company, if such investment is not prohibited by the instrument, judgment, decree, or order creating such fiduciary relationship, and if, in the case of co-fiduciaries, the bank or trust company procures the consent of its co-fiduciaries to such investment.
  2. For purposes of this section, two (2) or more banks or trust companies are affiliated if they are members of the same affiliated group, within the meaning of section 1504 of the United States internal revenue code, as amended, whether the affiliate’s principal place of business is within or without the state of Idaho.
History.

1949, ch. 34, § 1, p. 57; am. 1986, ch. 55, § 1, p. 162.

RESEARCH REFERENCES

ALR.

Trustee’s power to exchange trust property for share of corporation organized to hold the property. 20 A.L.R.3d 841.

§ 68-702. Uniformity of interpretation.

This act shall be so interpreted and construed as to effectuate its general purpose to make uniform the law of those states which enact it.

History.

1949, ch. 34, § 2, p. 57.

STATUTORY NOTES

Compiler’s Notes.

The term “this act” at the beginning of the section refers to S.L. 1949, chapter 34, which is compiled as§§ 68-701 to 68-703.

§ 68-703. Short title.

This act may be cited as the Uniform Common Trust Fund Act.

History.

1949, ch. 34, § 3, p. 57.

STATUTORY NOTES

Compiler’s Notes.

The term “this act” at the beginning of the section refers to S.L. 1949, chapter 34, which is compiled as§§ 68-701 to 68-703.

Section 5 of S.L. 1949, ch. 34 repealed all acts or parts of acts in conflict therewith.

Section 4 of S.L. 1949, ch. 34 provided as follows: “If any provision of this act or the application thereof to any person or circumstances is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect the other provisions or applications of the act which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this act are declared to be severable.”

Effective Dates.

Section 6 of S.L. 1949, ch. 34 declared an emergency and provided it should apply to fiduciary relationships then in existence or thereafter established. Approved February 5, 1949.

Chapter 8 TRANSFERS TO MINORS

Sec.

§ 68-801. Definitions.

As used in this chapter:

  1. “Adult” means an individual who has attained the age of twenty-one (21) years.
  2. “Benefit plan” means an employer’s plan for the benefit of an employee or partner.
  3. “Broker” means a person lawfully engaged in the business of effecting transactions in securities or commodities for the person’s own account or for the account of others.
  4. “Conservator” means a person appointed or qualified by a court to act as general, limited, or temporary guardian of a minor’s property or a person legally authorized to perform substantially the same functions.
  5. “Court” means the district courts of the state of Idaho.
  6. “Custodial property” means (i) any interest in property transferred to a custodian under this chapter and (ii) the income from and proceeds of that interest in property.
  7. “Custodian” means a person so designated under section 68-809, Idaho Code, or a successor or substitute custodian designated under section 68-818, Idaho Code.
  8. “Financial institution” means a bank, trust company, savings and loan association, or credit union, chartered and supervised under state or federal law.
  9. “Legal representative” means an individual’s personal representative or conservator.
  10. “Member of the minor’s family” means the minor’s parent, stepparent, spouse, grandparent, brother, sister, uncle, or aunt, whether of the whole or half blood or by adoption.
  11. “Minor” means an individual who has not attained the age of twenty-one (21) years.
  12. “Person” means an individual, corporation, organization, or other legal entity.
  13. “Personal representative” means an executor, administrator, successor personal representative, or special administrator of a decedent’s estate or a person legally authorized to perform substantially the same functions.
  14. “State” includes any state of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and any territory or possession subject to the legislative authority of the United States.
  15. “Transfer” means a transaction that creates custodial property under section 68-809, Idaho Code.
  16. “Transferor” means a person who makes a transfer under this chapter.
  17. “Trust company” means a financial institution, corporation, or other legal entity, authorized to exercise general trust powers.
History.

I.C.,§ 68-801, as added by 1984, ch. 152, § 2, p. 356.

STATUTORY NOTES

Prior Laws.

Former§§ 68-801 to 68-810, which comprised 1967, ch. 119, §§ 1 to 10, p. 253; am. 1972, ch. 160, §§ 1 to 3, p. 354; am. 1981, ch. 244, § 1, p. 487, were repealed by S.L. 1984, ch. 152, § 1.

§ 68-802. Scope and jurisdiction.

  1. This chapter applies to a transfer that refers to this chapter in the designation under section 68-809(1), Idaho Code, by which the transfer is made, if at the time of the transfer, the transferor, the minor, or the custodian is a resident of this state or the custodial property is located in this state. The custodianship so created remains subject to this chapter despite a subsequent change in residence of a transferor, the minor, or the custodian, or the removal of custodial property from this state.
  2. A person designated as custodian under this chapter is subject to personal jurisdiction in this state with respect to any matter relating to the custodianship.
  3. A transfer that purports to be made and which is valid under the Uniform Transfers to Minors Act, the Uniform Gifts to Minors Act, or a substantially similar act, of another state is governed by the law of the designated state and may be executed and is enforceable in this state if, at the time of the transfer, the transferor, the minor, or the custodian is a resident of the designated state or the custodial property is located in the designated state.
History.

I.C.,§ 68-802, as added by 1984, ch. 152, § 2, p. 356.

STATUTORY NOTES

Prior Laws.

Former§ 68-802 was repealed. See Prior Laws,§ 68-801.

§ 68-803. Nomination of custodian.

  1. A person having the right to designate the recipient of property transferable upon the occurrence of a future event may revocably nominate a custodian to receive the property for a minor beneficiary upon the occurrence of the event by naming the custodian, followed in substance by the words: “as custodian for (name of minor) under the Idaho Uniform Transfers to Minors Act.” The nomination may name one or more persons as substitute custodians to whom the property must be transferred, in the order named, if the first nominated custodian dies before the transfer or is unable, declines, or is ineligible to serve. The nomination may be made in a will, a trust, a deed, an instrument exercising a power of appointment, or in a writing designating a beneficiary of contractual rights which is registered with or delivered to the payor, issuer, or other obligor of the contractual rights.
  2. A custodian nominated under this section must be a person to whom a transfer of property of that kind may be made under section 68-809(1), Idaho Code.
  3. The nomination of a custodian under this section does not create custodial property until the nominating instrument becomes irrevocable or a transfer to the nominated custodian is completed under section 68-809, Idaho Code. Unless the nomination of a custodian has been revoked, upon the occurrence of the future event, the custodianship becomes effective and the custodian shall enforce a transfer of the custodial property pursuant to section 68-809, Idaho Code.
History.

I.C.,§ 68-803, as added by 1984, ch. 152, § 2, p. 356.

STATUTORY NOTES

Prior Laws.

Former§ 68-803 was repealed. See Prior Laws,§ 68-801.

Compiler’s Notes.

The words enclosed in parentheses so appeared in the law as enacted.

§ 68-804. Transfer by gift or exercise of power of appointment.

A person may make a transfer by irrevocable gift to, or the irrevocable exercise of a power of appointment in favor of, a custodian for the benefit of a minor pursuant to section 68-809, Idaho Code.

History.

I.C.,§ 68-804, as added by 1984, ch. 152, § 2, p. 356.

STATUTORY NOTES

Prior Laws.

Former§ 68-804 was repealed. See Prior Laws,§ 68-801.

§ 68-805. Transfer authorized by will or trust.

  1. A personal representative or trustee may make an irrevocable transfer pursuant to section 68-809, Idaho Code, to a custodian for the benefit of a minor as authorized in the governing will or trust.
  2. If the testator or settlor has nominated a custodian under section 68-803, Idaho Code, to receive the custodial property, the transfer must be made to that person.
  3. If the testator or settlor has not nominated a custodian under section 68-803, Idaho Code, or all persons so nominated as custodian die before the transfer or are unable, decline, or are ineligible to serve, the personal representative or the trustee, as the case may be, shall designate the custodian from among those eligible to serve as custodian for property of that kind under section 68-809(1), Idaho Code.
History.

I.C.,§ 68-805, as added by 1984, ch. 152, § 2, p. 356.

STATUTORY NOTES

Prior Laws.

Former§ 68-805 was repealed. See Prior Laws,§ 68-801.

§ 68-806. Other transfer by fiduciary.

  1. Subject to subsection (3) of this section, a personal representative or trustee may make an irrevocable transfer to another adult or trust company as custodian for the benefit of a minor pursuant to section 68-809, Idaho Code, in the absence of a will or under a will or trust that does not contain an authorization to do so.
  2. Subject to subsection (3) of this section, a conservator may make an irrevocable transfer to another adult or trust company as custodian for the benefit of the minor pursuant to section 68-809, Idaho Code.
  3. A transfer under subsection (1) or (2) of this section may be made only if (i) the personal representative, trustee, or conservator considers the transfer to be in the best interest of the minor, (ii) the transfer is not prohibited by or inconsistent with provisions of the applicable will, trust agreement, or other governing instrument, and (iii) the transfer is authorized by the court if it exceeds ten thousand dollars ($10,000) in value.
History.

I.C.,§ 68-806, as added by 1984, ch. 152, § 2, p. 356.

STATUTORY NOTES

Prior Laws.

Former§ 68-806 was repealed. See Prior Laws,§ 68-801.

§ 68-807. Transfer by obligor.

  1. Subject to subsections (2) and (3), a person not subject to the provisions of either section 68-805 or 68-806, Idaho Code, who holds property of or owes a liquidated debt to a minor not having a conservator may make an irrevocable transfer to a custodian for the benefit of the minor pursuant to section 68-809, Idaho Code.
  2. If a person having the right to do so under section 68-803, Idaho Code, has nominated a custodian under that section to receive the custodial property, the transfer must be made to that person.
  3. If no custodian has been nominated under section 68-803, Idaho Code, or all persons so nominated as custodian die before the transfer or are unable, decline, or are ineligible to serve, a transfer under this section may be made to an adult member of the minor’s family or to a trust company unless the property exceeds ten thousand dollars ($10,000) in value.
History.

I.C.,§ 68-807, as added by 1984, ch. 152, § 2, p. 356.

STATUTORY NOTES

Prior Laws.

Former§ 68-807 was repealed. See Prior Laws,§ 68-801.

§ 68-808. Receipt for custodial property.

A written acknowledgment of delivery by a custodian constitutes a sufficient receipt and discharge for custodial property transferred to the custodian pursuant to this chapter.

History.

I.C.,§ 68-808, as added by 1984, ch. 152, § 2, p. 356.

STATUTORY NOTES

Prior Laws.

Former§ 68-808 was repealed. See Prior Laws,§ 68-801.

§ 68-809. Manner of creating custodial property and effecting transfer — Designation of initial custodian — Control.

  1. Custodial property is created and a transfer is made whenever:
    1. An uncertificated security or a certificated security in registered form is either:
      1. registered in the name of the transferor, an adult other than the transferor, or a trust company, followed in substance by the words: “as custodian for ..... (name of minor) ..... under the Idaho Uniform Transfers to Minors Act”; or
      2. delivered if in certificated form, or any document necessary for the transfer of an uncertificated security is delivered, together with any necessary endorsement to an adult other than the transferor or to a trust company as custodian, accompanied by an instrument in substantially the form set forth in subsection (2) of this section;
    2. Money is paid or delivered to a broker or financial institution for credit to an account in the name of the transferor, an adult other than the transferor, or a trust company, followed in substance by the words: “as custodian for ..... of minor) ..... under the Idaho Uniform Transfers to Minors Act”;
    3. The ownership of a life or endowment insurance policy or annuity contract is either:
      1. registered with the issuer in the name of the transferor, an adult other than the transferor, or a trust company, followed in substance by the words: “as custodian for ..... (name of minor) ..... under the Idaho Uniform Transfers to Minors Act”; or
      2. assigned in a writing delivered to an adult other than the transferor or to a trust company whose name in the assignment is followed in substance by the words: “as custodian for ..... (name of minor) ..... under the Idaho Uniform Transfers to Minors Act”;
    4. An irrevocable exercise of a power of appointment or an irrevocable present right to future payment under a contract is the subject of a written notification delivered to the payor, issuer, or other obligor that the right is transferred to the transferor, an adult other than the transferor, or a trust company, whose name in the notification is followed in substance by the words: “as custodian for ..... (name of minor) ..... under the Idaho Uniform Transfers to Minors Act”;
    5. An interest in real property is recorded in the name of the transferor, an adult other than the transferor, or a trust company, followed in substance by the words: “as custodian for ..... (name of minor) ..... under the Idaho Uniform Transfers to Minors Act”;
    6. A certificate of title issued by a department or agency of a state or of the United States which evidences title to tangible personal property is either:
      1. issued in the name of the transferor, an adult other than the transferor, or a trust company, followed in substance by the words: “as custodian for ..... (name of minor) ..... under the Idaho Uniform Transfers to Minors Act”; or
      2. delivered to an adult other than the transferor or to a trust company, endorsed to that person, followed in substance by the words: “as custodian for ..... (name of minor) ..... under the Idaho Uniform Transfers to Minors Act”; or
    7. An interest in any property not described in paragraphs (a) through (f) is transferred to an adult other than the transferor or to a trust company by a written instrument in substantially the form set forth in subsection (2) of this section.
  2. An instrument in the following form satisfies the requirements of paragraphs (a)2. and (g) of subsection (1): “TRANSFER UNDER THE IDAHO UNIFORM TRANSFERS TO MINORS ACT I, ..... (name of transferor or name and representative capacity if a fiduciary) ..... hereby transfer to ..... (name of custodian) ....., as custodian for ..... (name of minor) ..... under the Idaho Uniform Transfers to Minors Act, the following: ..... (insert a description of the custodial property sufficient to identify it) ..... Dated: ......................... ........................................ (Signature) ..... (name of custodian) ..... acknowledges receipt of the property described above as custodian for the minor named above under the Idaho Uniform Transfers to Minors Act. Dated: ......................... ........................................ (Signature of Custodian)” (3) A transferor shall place the custodian in control of the custodial property as soon as practicable.
  3. An instrument in the following form satisfies the requirements of paragraphs (a)2. and (g) of subsection (1): “TRANSFER UNDER THE IDAHO UNIFORM TRANSFERS TO MINORS ACT
  4. A transferor shall place the custodian in control of the custodial property as soon as practicable.
History.

I.C.,§ 68-809, as added by 1984, ch. 152, § 2, p. 356.

STATUTORY NOTES

Prior Laws.

Former§ 68-809 was repealed. See Prior Laws,§ 68-801.

Compiler’s Notes.

The words enclosed in parentheses so appeared in the law as enacted.

§ 68-810. Single custodianship.

A transfer may be made only for one (1) minor, and only one (1) person may be the custodian. All custodial property held under this chapter by the same custodian for the benefit of the same minor constitutes a single custodianship.

History.

I.C.,§ 68-810, as added by 1984, ch. 152, § 2, p. 356.

STATUTORY NOTES

Prior Laws.

Former§ 68-810 was repealed. See Prior Laws,§ 68-801.

§ 68-811. Validity and effect of transfer.

  1. The validity of a transfer made in a manner prescribed in this chapter is not affected by:
    1. Failure of the transferor to comply with section 68-809(3), Idaho Code, concerning possession and control;
    2. Designation of an ineligible custodian, except designation of the transferor in the case of property for which the transferor is ineligible to serve as custodian under section 68-809(1), Idaho Code; or
    3. Death or incapacity of a person nominated under section 68-803, Idaho Code, or designated under section 68-809, Idaho Code, as custodian or the disclaimer of the office by that person.
  2. A transfer made pursuant to section 68-809, Idaho Code, is irrevocable, and the custodial property is indefeasibly vested in the minor, but the custodian has all the rights, powers, duties, and authority provided in this chapter, and neither the minor nor the minor’s legal representative has any right, power, duty, or authority with respect to the custodial property except as provided in this chapter.
  3. By making a transfer, the transferor incorporates in the disposition all the provisions of this chapter and grants to the custodian, and to any third person dealing with a person designated as custodian, the respective powers, rights, and immunities provided in this chapter.
History.

I.C.,§ 68-811, as added by 1984, ch. 152, § 2, p. 356.

§ 68-812. Care of custodial property.

  1. A custodian shall:
    1. Take control of custodial property;
    2. Register or record title to custodial property if appropriate; and
    3. Collect, hold, manage, invest, and reinvest custodial property.
  2. In dealing with custodial property, a custodian shall observe the standard of care that would be observed by a prudent person dealing with property of another and is not limited by any other statute restricting investments by fiduciaries. If a custodian has a special skill or expertise or is named custodian on the basis of representations of a special skill or expertise, the custodian shall use that skill or expertise. However, a custodian, in the custodian’s discretion and without liability to the minor or the minor’s estate, may retain any custodial property received from a transferor.
  3. A custodian may invest in or pay premiums on life insurance or endowment policies on (i) the life of the minor only, if the minor or the minor’s estate is the sole beneficiary, or (ii) the life of another person in whom the minor has an insurable interest only to the extent that the minor, the minor’s estate, or the custodian in the capacity of custodian, is the irrevocable beneficiary.
  4. A custodian at all times shall keep custodial property separate and distinct from all other property in a manner sufficient to identify it clearly as custodial property of the minor. Custodial property consisting of an undivided interest is so identified if the minor’s interest is held as a tenant in common and is fixed. Custodial property subject to recordation is so identified if it is recorded, and custodial property subject to registration is so identified if it is either registered, or held in an account designated, in the name of the custodian, followed in substance by the words: “as a custodian for (name of minor) under the Idaho Uniform Transfers to Minors Act.”
  5. A custodian shall keep records of all transactions with respect to custodial property, including information necessary for the preparation of the minor’s tax returns, and shall make them available for inspection at reasonable intervals by a parent or legal representative of the minor or by the minor, if the minor has attained the age of fourteen (14) years.
History.

I.C.,§ 68-812, as added by 1984, ch. 152, § 2, p. 356.

STATUTORY NOTES

Compiler’s Notes.

The words enclosed in parentheses so appeared in the law as enacted.

§ 68-813. Powers of custodian.

  1. A custodian, acting in a custodial capacity, has all the rights, powers, and authority over custodial property that unmarried adult owners have over their own property, but a custodian may exercise those rights, powers, and authority in that capacity only.
  2. The provisions of this section do not relieve a custodian from liability for breach of the provisions of section 68-812, Idaho Code.
History.

I.C.,§ 68-813, as added by 1984, ch. 152, § 2, p. 356.

§ 68-814. Use of custodial property.

  1. A custodian may deliver or pay to the minor or expend for the minor’s benefit so much of the custodial property as the custodian considers advisable for the use and benefit of the minor, without court order and without regard to (i) the duty or ability of the custodian personally or of any other person to support the minor, or (ii) any other income or property of the minor which may be applicable or available for that purpose.
  2. On petition of an interested person or the minor if the minor has attained the age of fourteen (14) years, the court may order the custodian to deliver or pay to the minor or expend for the minor’s benefit, so much of the custodial property as the court considers advisable for the use and benefit of the minor.
  3. A delivery, payment, or expenditure under this section is in addition to, not in substitution for, and does not affect any obligation of a person to support the minor.
History.

I.C.,§ 68-814, as added by 1984, ch. 152, § 2, p. 356.

§ 68-815. Custodian’s expenses, compensation, and bond.

  1. A custodian is entitled to reimbursement from custodial property for reasonable expenses incurred in the performance of the custodian’s duties.
  2. Except for one who is a transferor under section 68-804, Idaho Code, a custodian has a noncumulative election during each calendar year to charge reasonable compensation for services performed during that year.
  3. Except as provided in section 68-818(6), Idaho Code, a custodian need not give a bond.
History.

I.C.,§ 68-815, as added by 1984, ch. 152, § 2, p. 356.

§ 68-816. Exemption of third person from liability.

A third person, in good faith and without court order, may act on the instructions of or otherwise deal with any person purporting to make a transfer or purporting to act in the capacity of a custodian and, in the absence of knowledge, is not responsible for determining:

  1. The validity of the purported custodian’s designation;
  2. The propriety of, or the authority under this chapter for, any act of the purported custodian;
  3. The validity or propriety under this chapter of any instrument or instructions executed or given either by the person purporting to make a transfer or by the purported custodian; or
  4. The propriety of the application of any property of the minor delivered to the purported custodian.
History.

I.C.,§ 68-816, as added by 1984, ch. 152, § 2, p. 356.

§ 68-817. Liability to third persons.

  1. A claim based on (i) a contract entered into by a custodian acting in a custodial capacity, (ii) an obligation arising from the ownership or control of custodial property, or (iii) a tort committed during the custodianship, may be asserted against the custodial property by proceeding against the custodian in the custodial capacity, whether or not the custodian or the minor is personally liable therefor.
  2. A custodian is not personally liable:
    1. On a contract properly entered into in the custodial capacity, unless the custodian fails to reveal that capacity and to identify the custodianship in the contract; or
    2. For an obligation arising from control of custodial property or for a tort committed during the custodianship unless the custodian is personally at fault.
  3. A minor is not personally liable for an obligation arising from ownership of custodial property or for a tort committed during the custodianship, unless the minor is personally at fault.
History.

I.C.,§ 68-817, as added by 1984, ch. 152, § 2, p. 356.

§ 68-818. Renunciation, resignation, death, or removal of custodian — Designation of successor custodian.

  1. A person nominated under section 68-803, Idaho Code, or designated under section 68-809, Idaho Code, as custodian may decline to serve by delivering a valid disclaimer to the person who made the nomination or to the transferor or the transferor’s legal representative. If the event giving rise to a transfer has not occurred and no substitute custodian able, willing, and eligible to serve was nominated under section 68-803, Idaho Code, the person who made the nomination may nominate a substitute custodian under section 68-803, Idaho Code; otherwise the transferor or the transferor’s legal representative shall designate a substitute custodian at the time of the transfer, in either case from among the persons eligible to serve as custodian for that kind of property under section 68-809(1), Idaho Code. The custodian so designated has the rights of a successor custodian.
  2. A custodian, at any time, may designate a trust company or an adult other than a transferor under section 68-804, Idaho Code, as successor custodian by executing and dating an instrument of designation before a subscribing witness other than the successor. If the instrument of designation does not contain or is not accompanied by the resignation of the custodian, the designation of the successor does not take effect until the custodian resigns, dies, becomes incapacitated, or is removed.
  3. A custodian may resign at any time by delivering written notice to the minor, if the minor has attained the age of fourteen (14) years, and to the successor custodian and by delivering the custodial property to the successor custodian.
  4. If a custodian is ineligible, dies, or becomes incapacitated without having effectively designated a successor and the minor has attained the age of fourteen (14) years, the minor may designate as successor custodian, in the manner prescribed in subsection (2) of this section, an adult member of the minor’s family, a conservator of the minor, or a trust company. If the minor has not attained the age of fourteen (14) years, or fails to act with [within] sixty (60) days after the ineligibility, death, or incapacity, the conservator of the minor becomes successor custodian. If the minor has no conservator or the conservator declines to act, the transferor, the legal representative of the transferor or of the custodian, an adult member of the minor’s family, or any other interested person, may petition the court to designate a successor custodian.
  5. A custodian who declines to serve under subsection (1) of this section or resigns under subsection (3) of this section, or the legal representative of a deceased or incapacitated custodian, as soon as practicable, shall put the custodial property and records in the possession and control of the successor custodian. The successor custodian, by action, may enforce the obligation to deliver custodial property and records and becomes responsible for each item as received.
History.

(6) A transferor, the legal representative of a transferor, an adult member of the minor’s family, a guardian of the person of the minor, the conservator of the minor, or the minor, if the minor has attained the age of fourteen (14) years, may petition the court to remove the custodian for cause and to designate a successor custodian other than a transferor under section 68-804, Idaho Code, or to require the custodian to give appropriate bond. History.

I.C.,§ 68-818, as added by 1984, ch. 152, § 2, p. 356.

STATUTORY NOTES

Compiler’s Notes.

The bracketed word “within” in the second sentence of subsection (4) was inserted by the compiler to match the text of the uniform act.

§ 68-819. Accounting by and determination of liability of custodian.

  1. A minor who has attained the age of fourteen (14) years, the minor’s guardian of the person or legal representative, an adult member of the minor’s family, a transferor, or a transferor’s legal representative may petition the court (i) for an accounting by the custodian or the custodian’s legal representative; or (ii) for a determination of responsibility, as between the custodial property and the custodian personally, for claims against the custodial property, unless the responsibility has been adjudicated in an action under section 68-817, Idaho Code, to which the minor or the minor’s legal representative was a party.
  2. A successor custodian may petition the court for an accounting by the predecessor custodian.
  3. The court, in a proceeding under this chapter or in any other proceeding, may require or permit the custodian or the custodian’s legal representative to account.
  4. If a custodian is removed under section 68-818(6), Idaho Code, the court shall require an accounting and order delivery of the custodial property and records to the successor custodian and the execution of all instruments required for transfer of the custodial property.
History.

I.C.,§ 68-819, as added by 1984, ch. 152, § 2, p. 356.

§ 68-820. Termination of custodianship.

The custodian shall transfer in an appropriate manner the custodial property to the minor or to the minor’s estate upon the earlier of:

  1. The minor’s attainment of twenty-one (21) years of age with respect to custodial property transferred under section 68-804 or section 68-805, Idaho Code;
  2. The minor’s attainment of eighteen (18) years of age, with respect to custodial property transferred under section 68-806 or section 68-807, Idaho Code;
  3. The minor’s death.
History.

I.C.,§ 68-820, as added by 1984, ch. 152, § 2, p. 356.

§ 68-821. Applicability.

The provisions of this chapter apply to a transfer within the scope of section 68-802, Idaho Code, made after its effective date if:

  1. The transfer purports to have been made under the Uniform Gifts to Minors Act of Idaho; or
  2. The instrument by which the transfer purports to have been made uses in substance the designation “as custodian under the Uniform Gifts to Minors Act” or “as custodian under the Uniform Transfers to Minors Act” of any other state, and the application of this chapter is necessary to validate the transfer.
History.

I.C.,§ 68-821, as added by 1984, ch. 152, § 2, p. 356.

STATUTORY NOTES

Compiler’s Notes.

The phrase “after its effective date” in the introductory paragraph refers to the effective date of S.L. 1984, chapter 152, which was effective July 1, 1984.

§ 68-822. Effect on existing custodianships.

  1. Any transfer of custodial property as now defined in this chapter made before July 1, 1984, is validated, notwithstanding that there was no specific authority in the Uniform Gifts to Minors Act of Idaho, for the coverage of custodial property of that kind or for a transfer from that source at the time the transfer was made.
  2. The provisions of this chapter apply to all transfers made before the effective date of this chapter, in a manner and form prescribed in the Uniform Gifts to Minors Act of Idaho, except insofar as the application impairs constitutionally vested rights or extends the duration of custodianships in existence on the effective date of this chapter.
  3. Sections 68-801 and 68-820, Idaho Code, with respect to the age of a minor for whom custodial property is held under this chapter, do not apply to custodial property held in a custodianship that terminated because of the minor’s attainment of the age of eighteen (18) years after July 1, 1972 and before July 1, 1984.
History.

I.C.,§ 68-822, as added by 1984, ch. 152, § 2, p. 356.

STATUTORY NOTES

Compiler’s Notes.

The phrase “the effective date of this chapter” in subsection (2) refers to the effective date of S.L. 1984, chapter 152, which was effective July 1, 1984.

§ 68-823. Uniformity of application and construction.

The provisions of this chapter shall be applied and construed to effectuate its general purpose to make uniform the law with respect to the subject of this chapter among states enacting it.

History.

I.C.,§ 68-823, as added by 1984, ch. 152, § 2, p. 356.

§ 68-824. Short title.

This chapter may be cited as the “Idaho Uniform Transfers to Minors Act.”

History.

I.C.,§ 68-824, as added by 1984, ch. 152, § 2, p. 356.

§ 68-825. Severability.

The provisions of this chapter are hereby declared to be severable and if any provision of this chapter or the application of such provision to any person or circumstance is declared invalid for any reason, such declaration shall not affect the validity of remaining portions of this chapter.

History.

I.C.,§ 68-825, as added by 1984, ch. 152, § 2, p. 356.

Chapter 9 SIMPLIFICATION OF FIDUCIARY SECURITY TRANSFERS

Sec.

§ 68-901. Definitions.

In this act, unless the context otherwise requires:

  1. “Assignment” includes any written stock power, bond power, bill of sale, deed, declaration of trust, or other instrument of transfer.
  2. “Claim of beneficial interest” includes a claim of any interest by a decedent’s legatee, distributee, heir, or creditor, a beneficiary under a trust, a ward, a beneficial owner of a security registered in the name of a nominee, or a minor owner of a security registered in the name of a custodian, or a claim of any similar interest, whether the claim is asserted by the claimant or by a fiduciary or by any other authorized person on his behalf, and includes a claim that the transfer would be in breach of fiduciary duties.
  3. “Corporation” means a private or public corporation, association or trust issuing a security.
  4. “Fiduciary” means an executor, administrator, trustee, guardian, committee, conservator, curator, tutor, custodian, or nominee.
  5. “Person” includes an individual, a corporation, government or governmental subdivision or agency, business trust, estate, trust, partnership or association, two (2) or more persons having a joint or common interest, or any other legal or commercial entity.
  6. “Security” includes any share of stock, bond, debenture, note, or other security issued by a corporation which is registered as to ownership on the books of the corporation.
  7. “Transfer” means a change on the books of a corporation in the registered ownership of a security.
  8. “Transfer agent” means a person employed or authorized by a corporation to transfer securities issued by the corporation.
History.

1959, ch. 136, § 1, p. 294.

STATUTORY NOTES

Compiler’s Notes.

The term “this act” at the beginning of the introductory paragraph refers to S.L. 1959, chapter 136, which is compiled as§§ 68-901 to 68-911. The reference probably should be to “this chapter,” being chapter 9, title 68, Idaho Code.

§ 68-902. Registration in the name of a fiduciary.

A corporation or transfer agent registering a security in the name of a person who is a fiduciary or who is described as a fiduciary is not bound to inquire into the existence, extent, or correct description of the fiduciary relationship; and thereafter the corporation and its transfer agent may assume without inquiry that the newly registered owner continues to be the fiduciary until the corporation or transfer agent receives written notice that the fiduciary is no longer acting as such with respect to the particular security.

History.

1959, ch. 136, § 2, p. 294.

§ 68-903. Assignment by a fiduciary.

Except as otherwise provided in this act, a corporation or transfer agent making a transfer of a security pursuant to an assignment by a fiduciary

  1. may assume without inquiry that the assignment even though to the fiduciary himself or to his nominee, is within his authority and capacity and is not in breach of his fiduciary duties;
  2. may assume without inquiry that the fiduciary has complied with any controlling instrument and with the law of the jurisdiction governing the fiduciary relationship, including any law requiring the fiduciary to obtain court approval of the transfer; and
  3. is not charged with notice of and is not bound to obtain or examine any court record or any recorded or unrecorded document relating to the fiduciary relationship or the assignment, even though the record or document is in its possession.
History.

1959, ch. 136, § 3, p. 294.

STATUTORY NOTES

Compiler’s Notes.

The term “this act” near the beginning of the introductory paragraph refers to S.L. 1959, chapter 136, which is compiled as§§ 68-901 to 68-911. The reference probably should be to “this chapter,” being chapter 9, title 68, Idaho Code.

RESEARCH REFERENCES

ALR.

§ 68-904. Evidence of appointment or incumbency.

A corporation or transfer agent making a transfer pursuant to an assignment by a fiduciary who is not the registered owner shall obtain the following evidence of appointment or incumbency:

  1. In the case of a fiduciary appointed or qualified by a court, a certificate issued by or under the direction or supervision of that court or an officer thereof and dated within sixty (60) days before the transfer; or
  2. In any other case, a copy of a document showing the appointment or a certificate issued by or on behalf of a person reasonably believed by the corporation or transfer agent to be responsible or, in the absence of such a document or certificate, other evidence reasonably deemed by the corporation or transfer agent to be appropriate. Corporations and transfer agents may adopt standards with respect to evidence of appointment or incumbency under this subsection provided such standards are not manifestly unreasonable. Neither the corporation nor transfer agent is charged with notice of the contents of any document obtained pursuant to this paragraph (b) except to the extent that the contents relate directly to the appointment or incumbency.
History.

1959, ch. 136, § 4, p. 294.

§ 68-905. Adverse claims.

  1. A person asserting a claim of beneficial interest adverse to the transfer of a security pursuant to an assignment by a fiduciary may give the corporation or transfer agent written notice of the claim. The corporation or transfer agent is not put on notice unless the written notice identifies the claimant, the registered owner, and the issue of which the security is a part, provides an address for communications directed to the claimant and is received before the transfer. Nothing in this act relieves the corporation or transfer agent of any liability for making or refusing to make the transfer after it is so put on notice, unless it proceeds in the manner authorized in subsection (b).
  2. As soon as practicable after the presentation of a security for transfer pursuant to an assignment by a fiduciary, a corporation or transfer agent which has received notice of a claim of beneficial interest adverse to the transfer may send notice of the presentation by registered or certified mail to the claimant at the address given by him. If the corporation or transfer agent so mails such a notice it shall withhold the transfer for thirty (30) days after the mailing and shall then make the transfer unless restrained by a court order.
History.

1959, ch. 136, § 5, p. 294.

STATUTORY NOTES

Compiler’s Notes.

The term “this act” in the last sentence in subsection (a) refers to S.L. 1959, chapter 136, which is compiled as§§ 68-901 to 68-911. The reference probably should be to “this chapter,” being chapter 9, title 68, Idaho Code.

§ 68-906. Nonliability of corporation and transfer agent.

A corporation or transfer agent incurs no liability to any person by making a transfer or otherwise acting in a manner authorized by this act.

History.

1959, ch. 136, § 6, p. 294.

STATUTORY NOTES

Compiler’s Notes.

The term “this act” at the end of this section refers to S.L. 1959, chapter 136, which is compiled as§§ 68-901 to 68-911. The reference probably should be to “this chapter,” being chapter 9, title 68, Idaho Code.

§ 68-907. Nonliability of third persons.

  1. No person who participates in the acquisition, disposition, assignment or transfer of a security by or to a fiduciary, including a person who guarantees the signature of the fiduciary, [is liable for participation in any breach of fiduciary,] is liable for participation in any breach of fiduciary duty by reason of failure to inquire whether the transaction involves a breach unless it is shown that he acted with actual knowledge that the proceeds of the transaction were being or were to be used wrongfully for the individual benefit of the fiduciary or that the transaction was otherwise in breach of duty.
  2. If a corporation or transfer agent makes a transfer pursuant to an assignment by a fiduciary, a person who guaranteed the signature of the fiduciary is not liable on the guarantee to any person to whom the corporation or transfer agent by reason of this act incurs no liability.
  3. This section does not impose any liability upon the corporation or its transfer agent.
History.

1959, ch. 136, § 7, p. 294.

STATUTORY NOTES

Compiler’s Notes.

In subsection (a), the words “is liable for participation in any breach of fiduciary” were enclosed in brackets by the compiler as surplusage, as the phrase is duplicated in the enacting legislation.

The term “this act” near the end of subsection (b) refers to S.L. 1959, chapter 136, which is compiled as§§ 68-901 to 68-911. The reference probably should be to “this chapter,” being chapter 9, title 68, Idaho Code.

§ 68-908. Territorial application.

  1. The rights and duties of a corporation and its transfer agents in registering a security in the name of a fiduciary or in making a transfer of a security pursuant to an assignment by a fiduciary are governed by the law of the jurisdiction under whose laws the corporation is organized.
  2. This act applies to the rights and duties of a person other than the corporation and its transfer agents with regard to acts and omissions in the state in connection with the acquisition, disposition, assignment, or transfer of a security by or to a fiduciary and of a person who guarantees in this state the signature of a fiduciary in connection with such a transaction.
History.

1959, ch. 136, § 8, p. 294.

STATUTORY NOTES

Compiler’s Notes.

The term “this act” at the beginning of subsection (b) refers to S.L. 1959, chapter 136, which is compiled as§§ 68-901 to 68-911. The reference probably should be to “this chapter,” being chapter 9, title 68, Idaho Code.

§ 68-909. Tax obligations.

This act does not affect any obligation of a corporation or transfer agent with respect to estate, inheritance, succession, or other taxes imposed by the laws of this state.

History.

1959, ch. 136, § 9, p. 294.

STATUTORY NOTES

Compiler’s Notes.

The term “this act” at the beginning of this section refers to S.L. 1959, chapter 136, which is compiled as§§ 68-901 to 68-911. The reference probably should be to “this chapter,” being chapter 9, title 68, Idaho Code.

§ 68-910. Uniformity of interpretation.

This act shall be so construed as to effectuate its general purpose to make uniform the law of those states which enact it.

History.

1959, ch. 136, § 10, p. 294.

STATUTORY NOTES

Compiler’s Notes.

The term “this act” at the beginning of this section refers to S.L. 1959, chapter 136, which is compiled as§§ 68-901 to 68-911. The reference probably should be to “this chapter,” being chapter 9, title 68, Idaho Code.

§ 68-911. Short title.

This act may be cited as the Uniform Act for the Simplification of Fiduciary Security Transfers.

History.

1959, ch. 136, § 11, p. 294.

STATUTORY NOTES

Compiler’s Notes.

The term “this act” at the beginning of this section refers to S.L. 1959, chapter 136, which is compiled as§§ 68-901 to 68-911. The reference probably should be to “this chapter,” being chapter 9, title 68, Idaho Code.

Section 12 of S.L. 1959, ch. 136 repealed§ 68-303, Idaho Code, and all other laws or parts of laws in conflict therewith.

Chapter 10 UNIFORM PRINCIPAL AND INCOME ACT

Part 1. Definitions and Fiduciary Duties

Sec.

Part 2. Decedent’s Estate or Terminating Income Interest

Part 3. Apportionment at Beginning And End of Income Interest

Part 4. Allocation of Receipts During Administration of Trust

Part 5. Allocation of Disbursements During Administration of Trust

Part 6. Miscellaneous Provisions

__________

STATUTORY NOTES

Prior Laws.

The following former sections were repealed by S.L. 2001, ch. 261, § 1:

68-1001, which comprised 1963, ch. 187, § 1, p. 556.

68-1002, which comprised 1963, ch. 187, § 2, p. 556.

68-1003, which comprised 1963, ch. 187, § 3, p. 556.

68-1004, which comprised 1963, ch. 187, § 4, p. 556.

68-1005, which comprised 1963, ch. 187, § 5, p. 556.

68-1006, which comprised 1963, ch. 187, § 6, p. 556.

68-1007, which comprised 1963, ch. 187, § 7, p. 556.

68-1008, which comprised 1963, ch. 187, § 8, p. 556.

68-1009, which comprised 1963, ch. 187, § 9, p. 556.

68-1010, which comprised 1963, ch. 187, § 10, p. 556.

68-1011, which comprised 1963, ch. 187, § 11, p. 556.

68-1012, which comprised 1963, ch. 187, § 12, p. 556.

68-1013, which comprised 1963, ch. 187, § 13, p. 556.

68-1014, which comprised 1963, ch. 187, § 14, p. 556.

68-1015, which comprised 1963, ch. 187, § 15, p. 556.

68-1016, which comprised 1963, ch. 187, § 16, p. 556.

__________

Part 1 Definitions and Fiduciary Duties

§ 68-10-101. Short title.

This chapter may be cited as the “Uniform Principal and Income Act.”

History.

I.C.,§ 68-10-101, as added by 2001, ch. 261, § 2, p. 943.

§ 68-10-102. Definitions.

In this chapter:

  1. “Accounting period” means a calendar year unless another twelve (12) month period is selected by a fiduciary. The term includes a portion of a calendar year or other twelve (12) month period that begins when an income interest begins or ends when an income interest ends.
  2. “Beneficiary” includes, in the case of a decedent’s estate, an heir and devisee and, in the case of a trust, an income beneficiary and a remainder beneficiary.
  3. “Fiduciary” means a personal representative or a trustee. The term includes an executor, administrator, successor personal representative, special administrator, and a person performing substantially the same function.
  4. “Income” means money or property that a fiduciary receives as current return from a principal asset. The term includes a portion of receipts from a sale, exchange, or liquidation of a principal asset, to the extent provided in part 4 of this chapter.
  5. “Income beneficiary” means a person to whom net income of a trust is or may be payable.
  6. “Income interest” means the right of an income beneficiary to receive all or part of net income, whether the terms of the trust require it to be distributed or authorize it to be distributed in the trustee’s discretion.
  7. “Mandatory income interest” means the right of an income beneficiary to receive net income that the terms of the trust require the fiduciary to distribute.
  8. “Net income” means the total receipts allocated to income during an accounting period minus the disbursements made from income during the period, plus or minus transfers under this chapter to or from income during the period.
  9. “Person” means: an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, limited liability company, association, joint venture, government; governmental subdivision, agency or instrumentality; public corporation, or any other legal or commercial entity.
  10. “Principal” means property held in trust for distribution to a remainder beneficiary when the trust terminates.
  11. “Remainder beneficiary” means a person entitled to receive principal when an income interest ends.
  12. “Terms of a trust” means the manifestation of the intent of a trustor or decedent with respect to the trust, expressed in a manner that admits of its proof in a judicial proceeding, whether by written or spoken words or by conduct. Nothing herein shall require a trustee to look beyond the terms of a written instrument for the manifestation of the intent of a trustor.
  13. “Trustee” includes an original, additional or successor trustee, whether or not appointed or confirmed by a court.
History.

I.C.,§ 68-10-102, as added by 2001, ch. 261, § 2, p. 943.

Official Comment

“Income beneficiary.” The definitions of income beneficiary (Section 102(5)) and income interest (Section 102(6)) cover both mandatory and discretionary beneficiaries and interests. There are no definitions for “discretionary income beneficiary” or “discretionary income interest” because those terms are not used in the Act. Inventory value. There is no definition for inventory value in this Act because the provisions in which that term was used in the 1962 Act have either been eliminated (in the case of the underproductive property provision) or changed in a way that eliminates the need for the term (in the case of bonds and other money obligations, property subject to depletion, and the method for determining entitlement to income distributed from a probate estate).

“Net income.” The reference to “transfers under this Act to or from income” means transfers made under Sections 104(a), 412(b), 502(b), 503(b), 504(a), and 506.

“Terms of a trust.” This term was chosen in preference to “terms of the trust instrument” (the phrase used in the 1962 Act) to make it clear that the Act applies to oral trusts as well as those whose terms are expressed in written documents. The definition is based on the Restatement (Second) of Trusts § 4 (1959) and the Restatement (Third) of Trusts § 4 (Tent. Draft No. 1, 1996). Constructional preferences or rules would also apply, if necessary, to determine the terms of the trust.

§ 68-10-103. Fiduciary duties — General principles.

  1. In allocating receipts and disbursements to or between principal and income, and with respect to any matter within the scope of parts 2 and 3 of this chapter, a fiduciary:
    1. Shall administer a trust or estate in accordance with the terms of the trust or the will, even if there is a different provision in this chapter;
    2. May administer a trust or estate by the exercise of a discretionary power of administration given to the fiduciary by the terms of the trust or the will, even if the exercise of the power produces a result different from a result required or permitted by this chapter, and no inference that the fiduciary has improperly exercised the discretion arises from the fact that the fiduciary has made an allocation contrary to a provision of this chapter;
    3. Shall administer a trust or estate in accordance with this chapter if the terms of the trust or the will do not contain a different provision or do not give the fiduciary a discretionary power of administration; and
    4. Shall add a receipt or charge a disbursement to principal to the extent that the terms of the trust and this chapter do not provide a rule for allocating the receipt or disbursement to or between principal and income.
  2. In exercising the power to adjust under section 68-10-104(a), Idaho Code, or a discretionary power of administration regarding a matter within the scope of this chapter, whether granted by the terms of a trust, a will, or this chapter, a fiduciary shall administer a trust or estate impartially, based on what is fair and reasonable to all of the beneficiaries, except to the extent that the terms of the trust or the will clearly manifest an intention that the fiduciary shall or may favor one (1) or more of the beneficiaries. A determination in accordance with this chapter is presumed to be fair and reasonable to all of the beneficiaries.
History.

I.C.,§ 68-10-103, as added by 2001, ch. 261, § 2, p. 943.

CASE NOTES

Application.

A trust document controls in most situations and the former uniform act is not assumed to apply. If the trust document has terms contrary to the provisions of the former uniform act, the trust document controls. The trust document also controls when the language of the trust document is clear and unambiguous. Only if the language of the trust document is ambiguous and the terms of the trust document are not contrary to the provisions of the former uniform act will the act apply. Hedrick v. West One Bank, 123 Idaho 803, 853 P.2d 548 (1993).

RESEARCH REFERENCES

Am. Jur. 2d.
C.J.S.

Distribution of income increased by declaration of invalidity of express direction for accumulation. 17 A.L.R.3d 231.

Propriety of considering beneficiary’s other means under trust provision authorizing invasion of principal for beneficiary’s support. 41 A.L.R.3d 255.

Modern status of rules governing allocations of stock dividends or splits between principal and income. 81 A.L.R.3d 876.

Official Comment

Prior Act. The rule in Section 2(a) of the 1962 Act is restated in Section 103(a), without changing its substance, to emphasize that the Act contains only default rules and that provisions in the terms of the trust are paramount. However, Section 2(a) of the 1962 Act applies only to the allocation of receipts and disbursements to or between principal and income. In this Act, the first sentence of Section 103(a) states that it also applies to matters within the scope of Articles 2 and 3. Section 103(a)(2) incorporates the rule in Section 2(b) of the 1962 Act that a discretionary allocation made by the trustee that is contrary to a rule in the Act should not give rise to an inference of imprudence or partiality by the trustee.

The Act deletes the language that appears at the end of 1962 Act Section 2(a)(3) — “and in view of the manner in which men of ordinary prudence, discretion and judgment would act in the management of their affairs” — because persons of ordinary prudence, discretion and judgment, acting in the management of their own affairs do not normally think in terms of the interests of successive beneficiaries. If there is an analogy to an individual’s decision-making process, it is probably the individual’s decision to spend or to save, but this is not a useful guideline for trust administration. No case has been found in which a court has relied on the “prudent man” rule of the 1962 Act.

Fiduciary discretion. The general rule is that if a discretionary power is conferred upon a trustee, the exercise of that power is not subject to control by a court except to prevent an abuse of discretion. Restatement (Second) of Trusts § 187. The situations in which a court will control the exercise of a trustee’s discretion are discussed in the comments to § 187. See also id. § 233 Comment p.

Questions for which there is no provision. Section 103(a)(4) allocates receipts and disbursements to principal when there is no provision for a different allocation in the terms of the trust, the will, or the Act. This may occur because money is received from a financial instrument not available at the present time (inflation-indexed bonds might have fallen into this category had they been announced after this Act was approved by the Commissioners on Uniform State Laws) or because a transaction is of a type or occurs in a manner not anticipated by the Drafting Committee for this Act or the drafter of the trust instrument.

Allocating to principal a disbursement for which there is no provision in the Act or the terms of the trust preserves the income beneficiary’s level of income in the year it is allocated to principal, but thereafter will reduce the amount of income produced by the principal. Allocating to principal a receipt for which there is no provision will increase the income received by the income beneficiary in subsequent years, and will eventually, upon termination of the trust, also favor the remainder beneficiary. Allocating these items to principal implements the rule that requires a trustee to administer the trust impartially, based on what is fair and reasonable to both income and remainder beneficiaries. However, if the trustee decides that an adjustment between principal and income is needed to enable the trustee to comply with Section 103(b), after considering the return from the portfolio as a whole, the trustee may make an appropriate adjustment under Section 104(a). Duty of impartiality. Whenever there are two or more beneficiaries, a trustee is under a duty to deal impartially with them. Restatement of Trusts 3d: Prudent Investor Rule § 183 (1992). This rule applies whether the beneficiaries’ interests in the trust are concurrent or successive. If the terms of the trust give the trustee discretion to favor one beneficiary over another, a court will not control the exercise of such discretion except to prevent the trustee from abusing it. Id. § 183, Comment a. “The precise meaning of the trustee’s duty of impartiality and the balancing of competing interests and objectives inevitably are matters of judgment and interpretation. Thus, the duty and balancing are affected by the purposes, terms, distribution requirements, and other circumstances of the trust, not only at the outset but as they may change from time to time.” Id. § 232, Comment c.

The terms of a trust may provide that the trustee, or an accountant engaged by the trustee, or a committee of persons who may be family members or business associates, shall have the power to determine what is income and what is principal. If the terms of a trust provide that this Act specifically or principal and income legislation in general does not apply to the trust but fail to provide a rule to deal with a matter provided for in this Act, the trustee has an implied grant of discretion to decide the question. Section 103(b) provides that the rule of impartiality applies in the exercise of such a discretionary power to the extent that the terms of the trust do not provide that one or more of the beneficiaries are to be favored. The fact that a person is named an income beneficiary or a remainder beneficiary is not by itself an indication of partiality for that beneficiary.

§ 68-10-104. Trustee’s power to adjust.

  1. A trustee may adjust between principal and income to the extent the trustee considers necessary if the trustee invests and manages trust assets as a prudent investor in accordance with the Idaho uniform prudent investor act, the terms of the trust describe the amount that may or must be distributed to a beneficiary by referring to the trust’s income, and the trustee determines, after applying the rules in section 68-10-103(a), Idaho Code, that the trustee is unable to comply with section 68-10-103(b), Idaho Code.
  2. In deciding whether and to what extent to exercise the power conferred by subsection (a) of this section, a trustee shall consider all factors relevant to the trust and its beneficiaries, including the following factors to the extent they are relevant:
    1. The nature, purpose and expected duration of the trust;
    2. The intent of the trustor;
    3. The identity and circumstances of the beneficiaries;
    4. The needs for liquidity, regularity of income and preservation and appreciation of capital;
    5. The assets held in the trust; the extent to which they consist of financial assets, interests in closely held enterprises, tangible and intangible personal property, or real property; the extent to which an asset is used by a beneficiary; and whether an asset was purchased by the trustee or received from the trustor;
    6. The net amount allocated to income under the other sections of this chapter and the increase or decrease in the value of the principal assets, which the trustee may estimate as to assets for which market values are not readily available;
    7. Whether and to what extent the terms of the trust give the trustee the power to invade principal or accumulate income or prohibit the trustee from invading principal or accumulating income, and the extent to which the trustee has exercised a power from time to time to invade principal or accumulate income;
    8. The actual and anticipated effect of economic conditions on principal and income and effects of inflation and deflation; and
    9. The anticipated tax consequences of an adjustment.
  3. A trustee may not make an adjustment:
    1. That diminishes the income interest in a trust that requires all of the income to be paid at least annually to a spouse and for which an estate tax or gift tax marital deduction would be allowed, in whole or in part, if the trustee did not have the power to make the adjustment;
    2. That reduces the actuarial value of the income interest in a trust to which a person transfers property with the intent to qualify for a gift tax exclusion;
    3. That changes the amount payable to a beneficiary as a fixed annuity or a fixed fraction of the value of the trust assets;
    4. From any amount that is permanently set aside for charitable purposes under a will or the terms of a trust unless both income and principal are so set aside;
    5. If possessing or exercising the power to make an adjustment causes an individual to be treated as the owner of all or part of the trust for income tax purposes, and the individual would not be treated as the owner if the trustee did not possess the power to make an adjustment;
    6. If possessing or exercising the power to make an adjustment causes all or part of the trust assets to be included for estate tax purposes in the estate of an individual who is the trustee or has the power to remove a trustee or appoint a trustee, or both, and the assets would not be included in the estate of the individual if the trustee did not possess the power to make an adjustment; or
    7. If the trustee is a beneficiary of the trust.
  4. If subsection (c)(5), (6) or (7) of this section applies to a trustee and there is more than one (1) trustee, a cotrustee to whom the provision does not apply may make the adjustment unless the exercise of the power by the remaining trustee or trustees is not permitted by the terms of the trust.
  5. A trustee may release the entire power conferred by subsection (a) of this section or may release only the power to adjust from income to principal or the power to adjust from principal to income if the trustee is uncertain about whether possessing or exercising the power will cause a result described in subsection (c)(1) through (6) of this section or if the trustee determines that possessing or exercising the power will or may deprive the trust of a tax benefit or impose a tax burden not described in subsection (c) of this section. The release may be permanent or for a specified period, including a period measured by the life of an individual.
  6. Terms of a trust that limit the power of a trustee to make an adjustment between principal and income do not affect the application of this section unless it is clear from the terms of the trust that the terms are intended to deny the trustee the power of adjustment conferred by subsection (a) of this section.
  7. Unless a request has been made by a beneficiary that the trustee consider an adjustment, nothing in this section or in this chapter is intended to create or imply a duty to make an adjustment, and a trustee is not liable for not considering whether to make an adjustment or for choosing not to make an adjustment.
History.

I.C.,§ 68-10-104, as added by 2001, ch. 261, § 2, p. 943.

STATUTORY NOTES

Cross References.

Prudent investor act,§ 68-501 et seq.

Official Comment

Purpose and Scope of Provision. The purpose of Section 104 is to enable a trustee to select investments using the standards of a prudent investor without having to realize a particular portion of the portfolio’s total return in the form of traditional trust accounting income such as interest, dividends, and rents. Section 104(a) authorizes a trustee to make adjustments between principal and income if three conditions are met: (1) the trustee must be managing the trust assets under the prudent investor rule; (2) the terms of the trust must express the income beneficiary’s distribution rights in terms of the right to receive “income” in the sense of traditional trust accounting income; and (3) the trustee must determine, after applying the rules in Section 103(a), that he is unable to comply with Section 103(b). In deciding whether and to what extent to exercise the power to adjust, the trustee is required to consider the factors described in Section 104(b), but the trustee may not make an adjustment in circumstances described in Section 104(c). Section 104 does not empower a trustee to increase or decrease the degree of beneficial enjoyment to which a beneficiary is entitled under the terms of the trust; rather, it authorizes the trustee to make adjustments between principal and income that may be necessary if the income component of a portfolio’s total return is too small or too large because of investment decisions made by the trustee under the prudent investor rule. The paramount consideration in applying Section 104(a) is the requirement in Section 103(b) that “a fiduciary must administer a trust or estate impartially, based on what is fair and reasonable to all of the beneficiaries, except to the extent that the terms of the trust or the will clearly manifest an intention that the fiduciary shall or may favor one or more of the beneficiaries.” The power to adjust is subject to control by the court to prevent an abuse of discretion. Restatement (Second) of Trusts § 187 (1959). See also id. §§ 183, 232, 233, Comment p (1959).

Section 104 will be important for trusts that are irrevocable when a State adopts the prudent investor rule by statute or judicial approval of the rule in Restatement of Trusts 3d: Prudent Investor Rule. Wills and trust instruments executed after the rule is adopted can be drafted to describe a beneficiary’s distribution rights in terms that do not depend upon the amount of trust accounting income, but to the extent that drafters of trust documents continue to describe an income beneficiary’s distribution rights by referring to trust accounting income, Section 104 will be an important tool in trust administration.

Three conditions to the exercise of the power to adjust. The first of the three conditions that must be met before a trustee can exercise the power to adjust—that the trustee invest and manage trust assets as a prudent investor—is expressed in this Act by language derived from the Uniform Prudent Investor Act, but the condition will be met whether the prudent investor rule applies because the Uniform Act or other prudent investor legislation has been enacted, the prudent investor rule has been approved by the courts, or the terms of the trust require it. Even if a State’s legislature or courts have not formally adopted the rule, the Restatement establishes the prudent investor rule as an authoritative interpretation of the common law prudent man rule, referring to the prudent investor rule as a “modest reformulation of the Harvard College dictum and the basic rule of prior Restatements.” Restatement of Trusts 3d: Prudent Investor Rule, Introduction, at 5. As a result, there is a basis for concluding that the first condition is satisfied in virtually all States except those in which a trustee is permitted to invest only in assets set forth in a statutory “legal list.”

The second condition will be met when the terms of the trust require all of the “income” to be distributed at regular intervals; or when the terms of the trust require a trustee to distribute all of the income, but permit the trustee to decide how much to distribute to each member of a class of beneficiaries; or when the terms of a trust provide that the beneficiary shall receive the greater of the trust accounting income and a fixed dollar amount (an annuity), or of trust accounting income and a fractional share of the value of the trust assets (a unitrust amount). If the trust authorizes the trustee in its discretion to distribute the trust’s income to the beneficiary or to accumulate some or all of the income, the condition will be met because the terms of the trust do not permit the trustee to distribute more than the trust accounting income.

To meet the third condition, the trustee must first meet the requirements of Section 103(a), i.e., she must apply the terms of the trust, decide whether to exercise the discretionary powers given to the trustee under the terms of the trust, and must apply the provisions of the Act if the terms of the trust do not contain a different provision or give the trustee discretion. Second, the trustee must determine the extent to which the terms of the trust clearly manifest an intention by the settlor that the trustee may or must favor one or more of the beneficiaries. To the extent that the terms of the trust do not require partiality, the trustee must conclude that she is unable to comply with the duty to administer the trust impartially. To the extent that the terms of the trust do require or permit the trustee to favor the income beneficiary or the remainder beneficiary, the trustee must conclude that she is unable to achieve the degree of partiality required or permitted. If the trustee comes to either conclusion—that she is unable to administer the trust impartially or that she is unable to achieve the degree of partiality required or permitted—she may exercise the power to adjust under Section 104(a). Impartiality and productivity of income. The duty of impartiality between income and remainder beneficiaries is linked to the trustee’s duty to make the portfolio productive of trust accounting income whenever the distribution requirements are expressed in terms of distributing the trust’s “income.” The 1962 Act implies that the duty to produce income applies on an asset by asset basis because the right of an income beneficiary to receive “delayed income” from the sale proceeds of underproductive property under Section 12 of that Act arises if “any part of principal . . . has not produced an average net income of a least 1% per year of its inventory value for more than a year . . . .” Under the prudent investor rule, “[t]o whatever extent a requirement of income productivity exists, . . . the requirement applies not investment by investment but to the portfolio as a whole.” Restatement of Trusts 3d: Prudent Investor Rule § 227, Comment i, at 34. The power to adjust under Section 104(a) is also to be exercised by considering net income from the portfolio as a whole and not investment by investment. Section 413(b) of this Act eliminates the underproductive property rule in all cases other than trusts for which a marital deduction is allowed; the rule applies to a marital deduction trust if the trust’s assets “consist substantially of property that does not provide the spouse with sufficient income from or use of the trust assets . . .” — in other words, the section applies by reference to the portfolio as a whole.

While the purpose of the power to adjust in Section 104(a) is to eliminate the need for a trustee who operates under the prudent investor rule to be concerned about the income component of the portfolio’s total return, the trustee must still determine the extent to which a distribution must be made to an income beneficiary and the adequacy of the portfolio’s liquidity as a whole to make that distribution.

For a discussion of investment considerations involving specific investments and techniques under the prudent investor rule, see Restatement of Trusts 3d: Prudent Investor Rule § 227, Comments k-p.

Factors to consider in exercising the power to adjust. Section 104(b) requires a trustee to consider factors relevant to the trust and its beneficiaries in deciding whether and to what extent the power to adjust should be exercised. Section 2(c) of the Uniform Prudent Investor Act sets forth circumstances that a trustee is to consider in investing and managing trust assets. The circumstances in Section 2(c) of the Uniform Prudent Investor Act are the source of the factors in paragraphs (3) through (6) and (8) of Section 104(b) (modified where necessary to adapt them to the purposes of this Act) so that, to the extent possible, comparable factors will apply to investment decisions and decisions involving the power to adjust. If a trustee who is operating under the prudent investor rule decides that the portfolio should be composed of financial assets whose total return will result primarily from capital appreciation rather than dividends, interest, and rents, the trustee can decide at the same time the extent to which an adjustment from principal to income may be necessary under Section 104. On the other hand, if a trustee decides that the risk and return objectives for the trust are best achieved by a portfolio whose total return includes interest and dividend income that is sufficient to provide the income beneficiary with the beneficial interest to which the beneficiary is entitled under the terms of the trust, the trustee can decide that it is unnecessary to exercise the power to adjust. Assets received from the settlor. Section 3 of the Uniform Prudent Investor Act provides that “[a] trustee shall diversify the investments of the trust unless the trustee reasonably determines that, because of special circumstances, the purposes of the trust are better served without diversifying.” The special circumstances may include the wish to retain a family business, the benefit derived from deferring liquidation of the asset in order to defer payment of income taxes, or the anticipated capital appreciation from retaining an asset such as undeveloped real estate for a long period. To the extent the trustee retains assets received from the settlor because of special circumstances that overcome the duty to diversify, the trustee may take these circumstances into account in determining whether and to what extent the power to adjust should be exercised to change the results produced by other provisions of this Act that apply to the retained assets. See Section 104(b)(5); Uniform Prudent Investor Act § 3, Comment, 7B U.L.A. 18, at 25-26 (Supp. 1997); Restatement of Trusts 3d: Prudent Investor Rule § 229 and Comments a-e.

Limitations on the power to adjust. The purpose of subsections (c)(1) through (4) is to preserve tax benefits that may have been an important purpose for creating the trust. Subsections (c)(5), (6), and (8) deny the power to adjust in the circumstances described in those subsections in order to prevent adverse tax consequences, and subsection (c)(7) denies the power to adjust to any beneficiary, whether or not possession of the power may have adverse tax consequences.

Under subsection (c)(1), a trustee cannot make an adjustment that diminishes the income interest in a trust that requires all of the income to be paid at least annually to a spouse and for which an estate tax or gift tax marital deduction is allowed; but this subsection does not prevent the trustee from making an adjustment that increases the amount of income paid from a marital deduction trust to the spouse. Subsection (c)(1) applies to a trust that qualifies for the marital deduction because the spouse has a general power of appointment over the trust, but it applies to a qualified terminable interest property (QTIP) trust only if and to the extent that the fiduciary makes the election required to obtain the tax deduction. Subsection (c)(1) does not apply to a so-called “estate” trust. This type of trust qualifies for the marital deduction because the terms of the trust require the principal and undistributed income to be paid to the surviving spouse’s estate when the spouse dies; it is not necessary for the terms of an estate trust to require the income to be distributed annually. Reg. § 20.2056(c)-2(b)(1)(iii).

Subsection (c)(3) applies to annuity trusts and unitrusts with no charitable beneficiaries as well as to trusts with charitable income or remainder beneficiaries; its purpose is to make it clear that a beneficiary’s right to receive a fixed annuity or a fixed fraction of the value of a trust’s assets is not subject to adjustment under Section 104(a). Subsection (c)(3) does not apply to any additional amount to which the beneficiary may be entitled that is expressed in terms of a right to receive income from the trust. For example, if a beneficiary is to receive a fixed annuity or the trust’s income, whichever is greater, subsection (c)(3) does not prevent a trustee from making an adjustment under Section 104(a) in determining the amount of the trust’s income.

If subsection (c)(5), (6), (7), or (8), prevents a trustee from exercising the power to adjust, subsection (d) permits a cotrustee who is not subject to the provision to exercise the power unless the terms of the trust do not permit the cotrustee to do so. Release of the power to adjust. Section 104(e) permits a trustee to release all or part of the power to adjust in circumstances in which the possession or exercise of the power might deprive the trust of a tax benefit or impose a tax burden. For example, if possessing the power would diminish the actuarial value of the income interest in a trust for which the income beneficiary’s estate may be eligible to claim a credit for property previously taxed if the beneficiary dies within ten years after the death of the person creating the trust, the trustee is permitted under subsection (e) to release just the power to adjust from income to principal.

Trust terms that limit a power to adjust. Section 104(f) applies to trust provisions that limit a trustee’s power to adjust. Since the power is intended to enable trustees to employ the prudent investor rule without being constrained by traditional principal and income rules, an instrument executed before the adoption of this Act whose terms describe the amount that may or must be distributed to a beneficiary by referring to the trust’s income or that prohibit the invasion of principal or that prohibit equitable adjustments in general should not be construed as forbidding the use of the power to adjust under Section 104(a) if the need for adjustment arises because the trustee is operating under the prudent investor rule. Instruments containing such provisions that are executed after the adoption of this Act should specifically refer to the power to adjust if the settlor intends to forbid its use. See generally, Joel C. Dobris, Limits on the Doctrine of Equitable Adjustment in Sophisticated Postmortem Tax Planning, 66 Iowa L. Rev. 273 (1981).

Examples. The following examples illustrate the application of Section 104:

Example (1) — T is the successor trustee of a trust that provides income to A for life, remainder to B. T has received from the prior trustee a portfolio of financial assets invested 20% in stocks and 80% in bonds. Following the prudent investor rule, T determines that a strategy of investing the portfolio 50% in stocks and 50% in bonds has risk and return objectives that are reasonably suited to the trust, but T also determines that adopting this approach will cause the trust to receive a smaller amount of dividend and interest income. After considering the factors in Section 104(b), T may transfer cash from principal to income to the extent T considers it necessary to increase the amount distributed to the income beneficiary.

Example (2) — T is the trustee of a trust that requires the income to be paid to the settlor’s son C for life, remainder to C’s daughter D. In a period of very high inflation, T purchases bonds that pay double-digit interest and determines that a portion of the interest, which is allocated to income under Section 406 of this Act, is a return of capital. In consideration of the loss of value of principal due to inflation and other factors that T considers relevant, T may transfer part of the interest to principal.

Example (3) — T is the trustee of a trust that requires the income to be paid to the settlor’s sister E for life, remainder to charity F. E is a retired schoolteacher who is single and has no children. E’s income from her social security, pension, and savings exceeds the amount required to provide for her accustomed standard of living. The terms of the trust permit T to invade principal to provide for E’s health and to support her in her accustomed manner of living, but do not otherwise indicate that T should favor E or F. Applying the prudent investor rule, T determines that the trust assets should be invested entirely in growth stocks that produce very little dividend income. Even though it is not necessary to invade principal to maintain E’s accustomed standard of living, she is entitled to receive from the trust the degree of beneficial enjoyment normally accorded a person who is the sole income beneficiary of a trust, and T may transfer cash from principal to income to provide her with that degree of enjoyment.

Example (4) — T is the trustee of a trust that is governed by the law of State X. The trust became irrevocable before State X adopted the prudent investor rule. The terms of the trust require all of the income to be paid to G for life, remainder to H, and also give T the power to invade principal for the benefit of G for “dire emergencies only.” The terms of the trust limit the aggregate amount that T can distribute to G from principal during G’s life to 6% of the trust’s value at its inception. The trust’s portfolio is invested initially 50% in stocks and 50% in bonds, but after State X adopts the prudent investor rule T determines that, to achieve suitable risk and return objectives for the trust, the assets should be invested 90% in stocks and 10% in bonds. This change increases the total return from the portfolio and decreases the dividend and interest income. Thereafter, even though G does not experience a dire emergency, T may exercise the power to adjust under Section 104(a) to the extent that T determines that the adjustment is from only the capital appreciation resulting from the change in the portfolio’s asset allocation. If T is unable to determine the extent to which capital appreciation resulted from the change in asset allocation or is unable to maintain adequate records to determine the extent to which principal distributions to G for dire emergencies do not exceed the 6% limitation, T may not exercise the power to adjust. See Joel C. Dobris, Limits on the Doctrine of Equitable Adjustment in Sophisticated Postmortem Tax Planning, 66 Iowa L. Rev. 273 (1981). Example (5) — T is the trustee of a trust for the settlor’s child. The trust owns a diversified portfolio of marketable financial assets with a value of $600,000, and is also the sole beneficiary of the settlor’s IRA, which holds a diversified portfolio of marketable financial assets with a value of $900,000. The trust receives a distribution from the IRA that is the minimum amount required to be distributed under the Internal Revenue Code, and T allocates 10% of the distribution to income under Section 409(c) of this Act. The total return on the IRA’s assets exceeds the amount distributed to the trust, and the value of the IRA at the end of the year is more than its value at the beginning of the year. Relevant factors that T may consider in determining whether to exercise the power to adjust and the extent to which an adjustment should be made to comply with Section 103(b) include the total return from all of the trust’s assets, those owned directly as well as its interest in the IRA, the extent to which the trust will be subject to income tax on the portion of the IRA distribution that is allocated to principal, and the extent to which the income beneficiary will be subject to income tax on the amount that T distributes to the income beneficiary.

Example (6) — T is the trustee of a trust whose portfolio includes a large parcel of undeveloped real estate. T pays real property taxes on the undeveloped parcel from income each year pursuant to Section 501(3). After considering the return from the trust’s portfolio as a whole and other relevant factors described in Section 104(b), T may exercise the power to adjust under Section 104(a) to transfer cash from principal to income in order to distribute to the income beneficiary an amount that T considers necessary to comply with Section 103(b).

Example (7) — T is the trustee of a trust whose portfolio includes an interest in a mutual fund that is sponsored by T. As the manager of the mutual fund, T charges the fund a management fee that reduces the amount available to distribute to the trust by $2,000. If the fee had been paid directly by the trust, one-half of the fee would have been paid from income under Section 501(1) and the other one-half would have been paid from principal under Section 502(a)(1). After considering the total return from the portfolio as a whole and other relevant factors described in Section 104(b), T may exercise its power to adjust under Section 104(a) by transferring $1,000, or half of the trust’s proportionate share of the fee, from principal to income.

§ 68-10-105. Notice of proposed action.

  1. A trustee may give a notice of proposed action regarding a matter governed by this chapter as provided in this section. For the purpose of this section, a proposed action includes a course of action and a decision not to take action.
  2. The trustee shall mail notice of the proposed action to all adult beneficiaries who are receiving, or are entitled to receive, income under the trust or to receive a distribution of principal if the trust were terminated at the time the notice is given. If all beneficiaries of the trust are incapacitated persons, then notice shall be mailed to each of the incapacitated person’s guardians or conservators who are appointed in accordance with chapter 5, title 15, Idaho Code.
  3. Notice of proposed action need not be given to any person who consents in writing to the proposed action. The consent may be executed at any time before or after the proposed action is taken.
  4. The notice of proposed action shall state that it is given pursuant to this section and shall include all of the following:
    1. The name and mailing address of the trustee;
    2. A copy of the trust instrument, if any;
    3. A description of the action proposed to be taken and an explanation of the reasons for the action;
    4. The time within which objections to the proposed action can be made, which shall be at least thirty (30) days from the mailing of the notice of proposed action;
    5. The date on or after which the proposed action may be taken or is effective;
    6. A statement that the recipient may petition for a judicial determination of the proposed action;
    7. A form on which consent or objection to the proposed action may be indicated.
  5. A beneficiary may object or consent to the proposed action by mailing a written objection or consent to the trustee at the address stated in the notice of proposed action within the time period specified in the notice of proposed action.
  6. A trustee is not liable to a beneficiary for an action regarding a matter governed by this chapter if the trustee does not receive a written objection to the proposed action from the beneficiary within the applicable period and the other requirements of this section are satisfied. If no beneficiary entitled to notice objects under this section, the trustee is not liable to any current or future beneficiary with respect to the proposed action.
  7. If the trustee receives a written objection within the applicable period, either the trustee or a beneficiary may petition the court to have the proposed action taken as proposed, taken with modifications, or denied. In the proceeding, a beneficiary objecting to the proposed action has the burden of proving that the trustee’s proposed action should not be taken. A beneficiary who has not objected is not estopped from opposing the proposed action in the proceeding. If the trustee decides not to implement the proposed action, the trustee shall notify the beneficiaries of the decision not to take the action and the reasons for the decision, and the trustee’s decision not to implement the proposed action does not itself give rise to liability to any current or future beneficiary. A beneficiary may petition the court to have the action taken, and has the burden of proving that it should be taken.
History.

I.C.,§ 68-10-105, as added by 2001, ch. 261, § 2, p. 943.

Part 2 Decedent’s Estate or Terminating Income Interest

§ 68-10-201. Determination and distribution of net income.

After a decedent dies, in the case of an estate, or after an income interest in a trust ends, the following rules apply:

  1. A fiduciary of an estate or of a terminating income interest shall determine the amount of net income and net principal receipts received from property specifically given to a beneficiary under the rules in parts 3 through 5 of this chapter which apply to trustees and the rules in subsection (5) of this section. The fiduciary shall distribute the net income and net principal receipts to the beneficiary who is to receive the specific property.
  2. A fiduciary shall determine the remaining net income of a decedent’s estate or a terminating income interest under the rules in parts 3 through 5 of this chapter which apply to trustees and by:
    1. Including in net income all income from property used to discharge liabilities;
    2. Paying from income or principal, in the fiduciary’s discretion, fees of attorneys, accountants and fiduciaries; court costs and other expenses of administration; and interest on death taxes, but the fiduciary may pay those expenses from income of property passing to a trust for which the fiduciary claims an estate tax marital or charitable deduction only to the extent that the payment of those expenses from income will not cause the reduction or loss of the deduction; and
    3. Paying from principal all other disbursements made or incurred in connection with the settlement of a decedent’s estate or the winding up of a terminating income interest, including debts, funeral expenses, disposition of remains, and death taxes and related penalties that are apportioned to the estate or terminating income interest by the will, the terms of the trust, or applicable law.
  3. A fiduciary shall distribute to a beneficiary who receives a pecuniary amount outright the interest or any other amount provided by the will, the terms of the trust, or applicable law from net income determined under subsection (2) of this section or from principal to the extent that net income is insufficient. If a beneficiary is to receive a pecuniary amount outright from a trust after an income interest ends and no interest or other amount is provided for by the terms of the trust or applicable law, the fiduciary shall distribute the interest or other amount to which the beneficiary would be entitled under applicable law if the pecuniary amount were required to be paid under a will.
  4. A fiduciary shall distribute the net income remaining after distributions required by subsection (3) of this section in the manner described in section 68-10-202, Idaho Code, to all other beneficiaries, including a beneficiary who receives a pecuniary amount in trust, even if the beneficiary holds an unqualified power to withdraw assets from the trust or other presently exercisable general power of appointment over the trust. (5) A fiduciary may not reduce principal or income receipts from property described in subsection (1) of this section because of a payment described in section 68-10-501 or 68-10-502, Idaho Code, to the extent that the will, the terms of the trust, or applicable law requires the fiduciary to make the payment from assets other than the property or to the extent that the fiduciary recovers or expects to recover the payment from a third party. The net income and principal receipts from the property are determined by including all of the amounts the fiduciary receives or pays with respect to the property, whether those amounts accrued or became due before, on, or after the date of a decedent’s death or an income interest’s terminating event, and by making a reasonable provision for amounts that the fiduciary believes the estate or terminating income interest may become obligated to pay after the property is distributed.
History.

I.C.,§ 68-10-201, as added by 2001, ch. 261, § 2, p. 943; am. 2016, ch. 262, § 6, p. 682.

STATUTORY NOTES

Amendments.

The 2016 amendment, by ch. 262, deleted “family allowances” following “disposition of remains” in paragraph (2)(C).

Official Comment

Terminating income interests and successive income interests. A trust that provides for a single income beneficiary and an outright distribution of the remainder ends when the income interest ends. A more complex trust may have a number of income interests, either concurrent or successive, and the trust will not necessarily end when one of the income interests ends. For that reason, the Act speaks in terms of income interests ending and beginning rather than trusts ending and beginning. When an income interest in a trust ends, the trustee’s powers continue during the winding up period required to complete its administration. A terminating income interest is one that has ended but whose administration is not complete.

If two or more people are given the right to receive specified percentages or fractions of the income from a trust concurrently and one of the concurrent interests ends, e.g., when a beneficiary dies, the beneficiary’s income interest ends but the trust does not. Similarly, when a trust with only one income beneficiary ends upon the beneficiary’s death, the trust instrument may provide that part or all of the trust assets shall continue in trust for another income beneficiary. While it is common to think and speak of this (and even to characterize it in a trust instrument) as a “new” trust, it is a continuation of the original trust for a remainder beneficiary who has an income interest in the trust assets instead of the right to receive them outright. For purposes of this Act, this is a successive income interest in the same trust. The fact that a trust may or may not end when an income interest ends is not significant for purposes of this Act.

If the assets that are subject to a terminating income interest pass to another trust because the income beneficiary exercises a general power of appointment over the trust assets, the recipient trust would be a new trust; and if they pass to another trust because the beneficiary exercises a nongeneral power of appointment over the trust assets, the recipient trust might be a new trust in some States (see 5A Austin W. Scott & William F. Fratcher, The Law of Trusts § 640, at 483 (4th ed. 1989)); but for purposes of this Act a new trust created in these circumstances is also a successive income interest. Gift of a pecuniary amount. Section 201(3) and (4) provide different rules for an outright gift of a pecuniary amount and a gift in trust of a pecuniary amount; this is the same approach used in Section 5(b)(2) of the 1962 Act.

Interest on pecuniary amounts. Section 201(3) provides that the beneficiary of an outright pecuniary amount is to receive the interest or other amount provided by applicable law if there is no provision in the will or the terms of the trust. Many States have no applicable law that provides for interest or some other amount to be paid on an outright pecuniary gift under an inter vivos trust; this section provides that in such a case the interest or other amount to be paid shall be the same as the interest or other amount required to be paid on testamentary pecuniary gifts. This provision is intended to accord gifts under inter vivos instruments the same treatment as testamentary gifts. The various state authorities that provide for the amount that a beneficiary of an outright pecuniary amount is entitled to receive are collected in Richard B. Covey, Marital Deduction and Credit Shelter Dispositions and the Use of Formula Provisions, App. B (4th ed. 1997).

Administration expenses and interest on death taxes. Under Section 201(2)(B) a fiduciary may pay administration expenses and interest on death taxes from either income or principal. An advantage of permitting the fiduciary to choose the source of the payment is that, if the fiduciary’s decision is consistent with the decision to deduct these expenses for income tax purposes or estate tax purposes, it eliminates the need to adjust between principal and income that may arise when, for example, an expense that is paid from principal is deducted for income tax purposes or an expense that is paid from income is deducted for estate tax purposes.

The United States Supreme Court has considered the question of whether an estate tax marital deduction or charitable deduction should be reduced when administration expenses are paid from income produced by property passing in trust for a surviving spouse or for charity and deducted for income tax purposes. The Court rejected the IRS position that administration expenses properly paid from income under the terms of the trust or state law must reduce the amount of a marital or charitable transfer, and held that the value of the transferred property is not reduced for estate tax purposes unless the administration expenses are material in light of the income the trust corpus could have been expected to generate. Commissioner v. Estate of Otis C. Hubert, 117 S. Ct. 1124 (1997). The provision in Section 201(2)(B) permits a fiduciary to pay and deduct administration expenses from income only to the extent that it will not cause the reduction or loss of an estate tax marital or charitable contributions deduction, which means that the limit on the amount payable from income will be established eventually by Treasury Regulations.

Interest on estate taxes. The IRS agrees that interest on estate and inheritance taxes may be deducted for income tax purposes without having to reduce the estate tax deduction for amounts passing to a charity or surviving spouse, whether the interest is paid from principal or income. Rev. Rul. 93-48, 93-2 C.B. 270. For estates of persons who died before 1998, a fiduciary may not want to deduct for income tax purposes interest on estate tax that is deferred under Section 6166 or 6163 because deducting that interest for estate tax purposes may produce more beneficial results, especially if the estate has little or no income or the income tax bracket is significantly lower than the estate tax bracket. For estates of persons who die after 1997, no estate tax or income tax deduction will be allowed for interest paid on estate tax that is deferred under Section 6166. However, interest on estate tax deferred under Section 6163 will continue to be deductible for both purposes, and interest on estate tax deficiencies will continue to be deductible for estate tax purposes if an election under Section 6166 is not in effect. Under the 1962 Act, Section 13(c)(5) charges interest on estate and inheritance taxes to principal. The 1931 Act has no provision. Section 501(3) of this Act provides that, except to the extent provided in Section 201(2)(B) or (C), all interest must be paid from income.

§ 68-10-202. Distribution to residuary and remainder beneficiaries.

  1. Each beneficiary described in section 68-10-201(4), Idaho Code, is entitled to receive a portion of the net income equal to the beneficiary’s fractional interest in undistributed principal assets, using values as of the distribution date. If a fiduciary makes more than one (1) distribution of assets to beneficiaries to whom this section applies, each beneficiary, including one who does not receive part of the distribution, is entitled, as of each distribution date, to the net income the fiduciary has received after the date of death or terminating event or earlier distribution date but has not distributed as of the current distribution date.
  2. In determining a beneficiary’s share of net income, the following rules apply:
    1. The beneficiary is entitled to receive a portion of the net income equal to the beneficiary’s fractional interest in the undistributed principal assets immediately before the distribution date, including assets that later may be sold to meet principal obligations.
    2. The beneficiary’s fractional interest in the undistributed principal assets must be calculated without regard to property specifically given to a beneficiary and property required to pay pecuniary amounts not in trust.
    3. The beneficiary’s fractional interest in the undistributed principal assets must be calculated on the basis of the aggregate value of those assets as of the distribution date without reducing the value by any unpaid principal obligation.
    4. The distribution date for purposes of this section may be the date as of which the fiduciary calculates the value of the assets if that date is reasonably near the date on which assets are actually distributed.
  3. If a fiduciary does not distribute all of the collected but undistributed net income to each person as of a distribution date, the fiduciary shall maintain appropriate records showing the interest of each beneficiary in that net income.
  4. A fiduciary may apply the rules in this section, to the extent that the fiduciary considers it appropriate, to net gain or loss realized after the date of death or terminating event or earlier distribution date from the disposition of a principal asset if this section applies to the income from the asset.
History.

I.C.,§ 68-10-202, as added by 2001, ch. 261, § 2, p. 943.

Official Comment

Relationship to prior acts. Section 202 retains the concept in Section 5(b)(2) of the 1962 Act that the residuary legatees of estates are to receive net income earned during the period of administration on the basis of their proportionate interests in the undistributed assets when distributions are made. It changes the basis for determining their proportionate interests by using asset values as of a date reasonably near the time of distribution instead of inventory values; it extends the application of these rules to distributions from terminating trusts; and it extends these rules to gain or loss realized from the disposition of assets during administration, an omission in the 1962 Act that has been noted by several commentators. See, e.g., Richard B. Covey, Marital Deduction and Credit Shelter Dispositions and the Use of Formula Provisions 91 (4th ed. 1998); Thomas H. Cantrill, Fractional or Percentage Residuary Bequests: Allocation of Postmortem Income, Gain and Unrealized Appreciation, 10 Prob. Notes 322, 327 (1985).

Part 3 Apportionment at Beginning And End of Income Interest

§ 68-10-301. When right to income begins and ends.

  1. An income beneficiary is entitled to net income from the date on which the income interest begins. An income interest begins on the date specified in the terms of the trust or, if no date is specified, on the date an asset becomes subject to a trust or successive income interest.
  2. An asset becomes subject to a trust:
    1. On the date it is transferred to the trust in the case of an asset that is transferred to a trust during the transferor’s life;
    2. On the date of a testator’s death in the case of an asset that becomes subject to a trust by reason of a will, even if there is an intervening period of administration of the testator’s estate; or
    3. On the date of an individual’s death in the case of an asset that is transferred to a fiduciary by a third party because of the individual’s death.
  3. An asset becomes subject to a successive income interest on the day after the preceding income interest ends, as determined under subsection (d) of this section, even if there is an intervening period of administration to wind up the preceding income interest.
  4. An income interest ends on the day before an income beneficiary dies or another terminating event occurs, or on the last day of a period during which there is no beneficiary to whom a trustee may distribute income.
History.

I.C.,§ 68-10-301, as added by 2001, ch. 261, § 2, p. 943.

Official Comment

Period during which there is no beneficiary. The purpose of the second part of subsection (d) is to provide that, at the end of a period during which there is no beneficiary to whom a trustee may distribute income, the trustee must apply the same apportionment rules that apply when a mandatory income interest ends. This provision would apply, for example, if a settlor creates a trust for grandchildren before any grandchildren are born. When the first grandchild is born, the period preceding the date of birth is treated as having ended, followed by a successive income interest, and the apportionment rules in Sections 302 and 303 apply accordingly if the terms of the trust do not contain different provisions.

§ 68-10-302. Apportionment of receipts and disbursements when decedent dies or income interest begins.

  1. A trustee shall allocate an income receipt or disbursement other than one to which section 68-10-201(1), Idaho Code, applies to principal if its due date occurs before a decedent dies in the case of an estate or before an income interest begins in the case of a trust or successive income interest.
  2. A trustee shall allocate an income receipt or disbursement to income if its due date occurs on or after the date on which a decedent dies or an income interest begins and it is a periodic due date. An income receipt or disbursement must be treated as accruing from day to day if its due date is not periodic or it has no due date. The portion of the receipt or disbursement accruing before the date on which a decedent dies or an income interest begins must be allocated to principal and the balance must be allocated to income.
  3. An item of income or an obligation is due on the date the payer is required to make a payment. If a payment date is not stated, there is no due date for the purposes of this chapter. Distributions to shareholders or other owners from an entity to which section 68-10-401, Idaho Code, applies are deemed to be due on the date fixed by the entity for determining who is entitled to receive the distribution or, if no date is fixed, on the declaration date for the distribution. A due date is periodic for receipts or disbursements that must be paid at regular intervals under a lease or an obligation to pay interest or if an entity customarily makes distributions at regular intervals.
History.

I.C.,§ 68-10-302, as added by 2001, ch. 261, § 2, p. 943.

Official Comment

Prior Acts. Professor Bogert stated that “Section 4 of the [1962] Act makes a change with respect to the apportionment of the income of trust property not due until after the trust began but which accrued in part before the commencement of the trust. It treats such income as to be credited entirely to the income account in the case of a living trust, but to be apportioned between capital and income in the case of a testamentary trust. The [1931] Act apportions such income in the case of both types of trusts, except in the case of corporate dividends.” George G. Bogert, The Revised Uniform Principal and Income Act, 38 Notre Dame Law. 50, 52 (1962). The 1962 Act also provides that an asset passing to an inter vivos trust by a bequest in the settlor’s will is governed by the rule that applies to a testamentary trust, so that different rules apply to assets passing to an inter vivos trust depending upon whether they were transferred to the trust during the settlor’s life or by his will.

Having several different rules that apply to similar transactions is confusing. In order to simplify administration, Section 302 applies the same rule to inter vivos trusts (revocable and irrevocable), testamentary trusts, and assets that become subject to an inter vivos trust by a testamentary bequest.

Periodic payments. Under Section 302, a periodic payment is principal if it is due but unpaid before a decedent dies or before an asset becomes subject to a trust, but the next payment is allocated entirely to income and is not apportioned. Thus, periodic receipts such as rents, dividends, interest, and annuities, and disbursements such as the interest portion of a mortgage payment, are not apportioned. This is the original common law rule. Edwin A. Howes, Jr., The American Law Relating to Income and Principal 70 (1905). In trusts in which a surviving spouse is dependent upon a regular flow of cash from the decedent’s securities portfolio, this rule will help to maintain payments to the spouse at the same level as before the settlor’s death. Under the 1962 Act, the pre-death portion of the first periodic payment due after death is apportioned to principal in the case of a testamentary trust or securities bequeathed by will to an inter vivos trust. Nonperiodic payments. Under the second sentence of Section 302(b), interest on an obligation that does not provide a due date for the interest payment, such as interest on an income tax refund, would be apportioned to principal to the extent it accrues before a person dies or an income interest begins unless the obligation is specifically given to a devisee or remainder beneficiary, in which case all of the accrued interest passes under Section 201(1) to the person who receives the obligation. The same rule applies to interest on an obligation that has a due date but does not provide for periodic payments. If there is no stated interest on the obligation, such as a zero coupon bond, and the proceeds from the obligation are received more than one year after it is purchased or acquired by the trustee, the entire amount received is principal under Section 406.

§ 68-10-303. Apportionment when income interest ends.

  1. In this section, “undistributed income” means net income received before the date on which an income interest ends. The term does not include an item of income or expense that is due or accrued or net income that has been added or is required to be added to principal under the terms of the trust.
  2. When a mandatory income interest ends, the trustee shall pay to a mandatory income beneficiary who survives that date, or the estate of a deceased mandatory income beneficiary whose death causes the interest to end, the beneficiary’s share of the undistributed income that is not disposed of under the terms of the trust unless the beneficiary has an unqualified power to revoke more than five percent (5%) of the trust immediately before the income interest ends. In the latter case, the undistributed income from the portion of the trust that may be revoked must be added to principal.
  3. When a trustee’s obligation to pay a fixed annuity or a fixed fraction of the value of the trust’s assets ends, the trustee shall prorate the final payment if and to the extent required by applicable law to accomplish a purpose of the trust or its trustor relating to income, gift, estate, or other tax requirements.
History.

I.C.,§ 68-10-303, as added by 2001, ch. 261, § 2, p. 943.

Official Comment

Prior Acts. Both the 1931 Act (Section 4) and the 1962 Act (Section 4(d)) provide that a deceased income beneficiary’s estate is entitled to the undistributed income. The Drafting Committee concluded that this is probably not what most settlors would want, and that, with respect to undistributed income, most settlors would favor the income beneficiary first, the remainder beneficiaries second, and the income beneficiary’s heirs last, if at all. However, it decided not to eliminate this provision to avoid causing disputes about whether the trustee should have distributed collected cash before the income beneficiary died.

Accrued periodic payments. Under the prior Acts, an income beneficiary or his estate is entitled to receive a portion of any payments, other than dividends, that are due or that have accrued when the income interest terminates. The last sentence of subsection (a) changes that rule by providing that such items are not included in undistributed income. The items affected include periodic payments of interest, rent, and dividends, as well as items of income that accrue over a longer period of time; the rule also applies to expenses that are due or accrued.

Example — accrued periodic payments. The rules in Section 302 and Section 303 work in the following manner: Assume that a periodic payment of rent that is due on July 20 has not been paid when an income interest ends on July 30; the successive income interest begins on July 31, and the rent payment that was due on July 20 is paid on August 3. Under Section 302(a), the July 20 payment is added to the principal of the successive income interest when received. Under Section 302(b), the entire periodic payment of rent that is due on August 20 is income when received by the successive income interest. Under Section 303, neither the income beneficiary of the terminated income interest nor the beneficiary’s estate is entitled to any part of either the July 20 or the August 20 payments because neither one was received before the income interest ended on July 30. The same principles apply to expenses of the trust. Beneficiary with an unqualified power to revoke. The requirement in subsection (b) to pay undistributed income to a mandatory income beneficiary or her estate does not apply to the extent the beneficiary has an unqualified power to revoke more than five percent of the trust immediately before the income interest ends. Without this exception, subsection (b) would apply to a revocable living trust whose settlor is the mandatory income beneficiary during her lifetime, even if her will provides that all of the assets in the probate estate are to be distributed to the trust.

If a trust permits the beneficiary to withdraw all or a part of the trust principal after attaining a specified age and the beneficiary attains that age but fails to withdraw all of the principal that she is permitted to withdraw, a trustee is not required to pay her or her estate the undistributed income attributable to the portion of the principal that she left in the trust. The assumption underlying this rule is that the beneficiary has either provided for the disposition of the trust assets (including the undistributed income) by exercising a power of appointment that she has been given or has not withdrawn the assets because she is willing to have the principal and undistributed income be distributed under the terms of the trust. If the beneficiary has the power to withdraw 25% of the trust principal, the trustee must pay to her or her estate the undistributed income from the 75% that she cannot withdraw.

Part 4 Allocation of Receipts During Administration of Trust

§ 68-10-401. Character of receipts.

  1. In this section, “entity” means a corporation, partnership, limited liability company, regulated investment company, real estate investment trust, common trust fund, or any other organization in which a trustee has an interest other than a trust or estate to which section68-10-402, Idaho Code, applies, a business or activity to which section68-10-413 [68-10-403], Idaho Code, applies, or an asset-backed security to which section 68-10-415, Idaho Code, applies.
  2. Except as otherwise provided in this section, a trustee shall allocate to income money received from an entity.
  3. A trustee shall allocate the following receipts from an entity to principal:
    1. Property other than money;
    2. Money received in one (1) distribution or a series of related distributions in exchange for part or all of a trust’s interest in the entity;
    3. Money received in total or partial liquidation of the entity; and
    4. Money received from an entity that is a regulated investment company or a real estate investment trust if the money distributed is a capital gain dividend for federal income tax purposes.
  4. Money is received in partial liquidation:
    1. To the extent that the entity, at or near the time of a distribution, indicates that it is a distribution in partial liquidation; or
    2. If the total amount of money and property received in a distribution or series of related distributions is greater than twenty percent (20%) of the entity’s gross assets, as shown by the entity’s year-end financial statements immediately preceding the initial receipt.
  5. Money is not received in partial liquidation, nor may it be taken into account under subsection (d)(2) of this section, to the extent that it does not exceed the amount of income tax that a trustee or beneficiary must pay on taxable income of the entity that distributes the money.
  6. A trustee may rely upon a statement made by an entity about the source or character of a distribution if the statement is made at or near the time of distribution by the entity’s board of directors or other person or group of persons authorized to exercise powers to pay money or transfer property comparable to those of a corporation’s board of directors.
History.

I.C.,§ 68-10-401, as added by 2001, ch. 261, § 2, p. 943.

STATUTORY NOTES

Compiler’s Notes.

The bracketed insertion in subsection (a) was added by the compiler to conform this section to the uniform act.

Official Comment

Entities to which Section 401 applies. The reference to partnerships in Section 401(a) is intended to include all forms of partnerships, including limited partnerships, limited liability partnerships, and variants that have slightly different names and characteristics from State to State. The section does not apply, however, to receipts from an interest in property that a trust owns as a tenant in common with one or more co-owners, nor would it apply to an interest in a joint venture if, under applicable law, the trust’s interest is regarded as that of a tenant in common.

Capital gain dividends. Under the Internal Revenue Code and the Income Tax Regulations, a “capital gain dividend” from a mutual fund or real estate investment trust is the excess of the fund’s or trust’s net long-term capital gain over its net short-term capital loss. As a result, a capital gain dividend does not include any net short-term capital gain, and cash received by a trust because of a net short-term capital gain is income under this Act.

Reinvested dividends. If a trustee elects (or continues an election made by its predecessor) to reinvest dividends in shares of stock of a distributing corporation or fund, whether evidenced by new certificates or entries on the books of the distributing entity, the new shares would be principal. Making or continuing such an election would be equivalent to deciding under Section 104 to transfer income to principal in order to comply with Section 103(b). However, if the trustee makes or continues the election for a reason other than to comply with Section 103(b), e.g., to make an investment without incurring brokerage commissions, the trustee should transfer cash from principal to income in an amount equal to the reinvested dividends.

Distribution of property. The 1962 Act describes a number of types of property that would be principal if distributed by a corporation. This becomes unwieldy in a section that applies to both corporations and all other entities. By stating that principal includes the distribution of any property other than money, Section 401 embraces all of the items enumerated in Section 6 of the 1962 Act as well as any other form of nonmonetary distribution not specifically mentioned in that Act.

Partial liquidations. Under subsection (d)(1), any distribution designated by the entity as a partial liquidating distribution is principal regardless of the percentage of total assets that it represents. If a distribution exceeds 20% of the entity’s gross assets, the entire distribution is a partial liquidation under subsection (d)(2) whether or not the entity describes it as a partial liquidation. In determining whether a distribution is greater than 20% of the gross assets, the portion of the distribution that does not exceed the amount of income tax that the trustee or a beneficiary must pay on the entity’s taxable income is ignored.

Other large distributions. A cash distribution may be quite large (for example, more than 10% but not more than 20% of the entity’s gross assets) and have characteristics that suggest it should be treated as principal rather than income. For example, an entity may have received cash from a source other than the conduct of its normal business operations because it sold an investment asset; or because it sold a business asset other than one held for sale to customers in the normal course of its business and did not replace it; or it borrowed a large sum of money and secured the repayment of the loan with a substantial asset; or a principal source of its cash was from assets such as mineral interests, 90% of which would have been allocated to principal if the trust had owned the assets directly. In such a case the trustee, after considering the total return from the portfolio as a whole and the income component of that return, may decide to exercise the power under Section 104(a) to make an adjustment between income and principal, subject to the limitations in Section 104(c).

§ 68-10-402. Distribution from trust or estate.

A trustee shall allocate to income an amount received as a distribution of income from a trust or an estate in which the trust has an interest other than a purchased interest, and shall allocate to principal an amount received as a distribution of principal from such a trust or estate. If a trustee purchases an interest in a trust that is an investment entity, or a decedent or donor transfers an interest in such a trust to a trustee, section 68-10-401 or 68-10-415, Idaho Code, applies to a receipt from the trust.

History.

I.C.,§ 68-10-402, as added by 2001, ch. 261, § 2, p. 943.

Official Comment

Terms of the distributing trust or estate. Under Section 103(a), a trustee is to allocate receipts in accordance with the terms of the recipient trust or, if there is no provision, in accordance with this Act. However, in determining whether a distribution from another trust or an estate is income or principal, the trustee should also determine what the terms of the distributing trust or estate say about the distribution—for example, whether they direct that the distribution, even though made from the income of the distributing trust or estate, is to be added to principal of the recipient trust. Such a provision should override the terms of this Act, but if the terms of the recipient trust contain a provision requiring such a distribution to be allocated to income, the trustee may have to obtain a judicial resolution of the conflict between the terms of the two documents.

Investment trusts. An investment entity to which the second sentence of this section applies includes a mutual fund, a common trust fund, a business trust or other entity organized as a trust for the purpose of receiving capital contributed by investors, investing that capital, and managing investment assets, including asset-backed security arrangements to which Section 415 applies. See John H. Langbein, The Secret Life of the Trust: The Trust as an Instrument of Commerce, 107 Yale L.J. 165 (1997).

§ 68-10-403. Business and other activities conducted by trustee.

  1. If a trustee who conducts a business or other activity determines that it is in the best interest of all the beneficiaries to account separately for the business or activity instead of accounting for it as part of the trust’s general accounting records, the trustee may maintain separate accounting records for its transactions, whether or not its assets are segregated from other trust assets.
  2. A trustee who accounts separately for a business or other activity may determine the extent to which its net cash receipts must be retained for working capital, the acquisition or replacement of fixed assets, and other reasonably foreseeable needs of the business or activity, and the extent to which the remaining net cash receipts are accounted for as principal or income in the trust’s general accounting records. If a trustee sells assets of the business or other activity, other than in the ordinary course of the business or activity, the trustee shall account for the net amount received as principal in the trust’s general accounting records to the extent the trustee determines that the amount received is no longer required in the conduct of the business.
  3. Activities for which a trustee may maintain separate accounting records include:
    1. Retail, manufacturing, service and other traditional business activities;
    2. Farming;
    3. Raising and selling livestock and other animals;
    4. Management of rental properties;
    5. Extraction of minerals and other natural resources;
    6. Timber operations; and
    7. Activities to which section 68-10-414, Idaho Code, applies.
History.

I.C.,§ 68-10-403, as added by 2001, ch. 261, § 2, p. 943.

Official Comment

Purpose and scope. The provisions in Section 403 are intended to give greater flexibility to a trustee who operates a business or other activity in proprietorship form rather than in a wholly-owned corporation (or, where permitted by state law, a single-member limited liability company), and to facilitate the trustee’s ability to decide the extent to which the net receipts from the activity should be allocated to income, just as the board of directors of a corporation owned entirely by the trust would decide the amount of the annual dividend to be paid to the trust. It permits a trustee to account for farming or livestock operations, rental properties, oil and gas properties, timber operations, and activities in derivatives and options as though they were held by a separate entity. It is not intended, however, to permit a trustee to account separately for a traditional securities portfolio to avoid the provisions of this Act that apply to such securities.

Section 403 permits the trustee to account separately for each business or activity for which the trustee determines separate accounting is appropriate. A trustee with a computerized accounting system may account for these activities in a “subtrust”; an individual trustee may continue to use the business and record-keeping methods employed by the decedent or transferor who may have conducted the business under an assumed name. The intent of this section is to give the trustee broad authority to select business record-keeping methods that best suit the activity in which the trustee is engaged. If a fiduciary liquidates a sole proprietorship or other activity to which Section 403 applies, the proceeds would be added to principal, even though derived from the liquidation of accounts receivable, because the proceeds would no longer be needed in the conduct of the business. If the liquidation occurs during probate or during an income interest’s winding up period, none of the proceeds would be income for purposes of Section 201.

Separate accounts. A trustee may or may not maintain separate bank accounts for business activities that are accounted for under Section 403. A professional trustee may decide not to maintain separate bank accounts, but an individual trustee, especially one who has continued a decedent’s business practices, may continue the same banking arrangements that were used during the decedent’s lifetime. In either case, the trustee is authorized to decide to what extent cash is to be retained as part of the business assets and to what extent it is to be transferred to the trust’s general accounts, either as income or principal.

§ 68-10-404. Principal receipts.

A trustee shall allocate to principal:

  1. To the extent not allocated to income under this chapter, assets received from a transferor during the transferor’s lifetime, a decedent’s estate, a trust with a terminating income interest, or a payer under a contract naming the trust or its trustee as beneficiary;
  2. Money or other property received from the sale, exchange, liquidation, or change in form of a principal asset, including realized profit, subject to this part;
  3. Amounts recovered from third parties to reimburse the trust because of disbursements described in section 68-10-502(a)(7), Idaho Code, or for other reasons to the extent not based on the loss of income;
  4. Proceeds of property taken by eminent domain, but a separate award made for the loss of income with respect to an accounting period during which a current income beneficiary had a mandatory income interest is income;
  5. Net income received in an accounting period during which there is no beneficiary to whom a trustee may or must distribute income; and
  6. Other receipts as provided in sections 68-10-408 through 68-10-415, Idaho Code.
History.

I.C.,§ 68-10-404, as added by 2001, ch. 261, § 2, p. 943.

Official Comment

Eminent domain awards. Even though the award in an eminent domain proceeding may include an amount for the loss of future rent on a lease, if that amount is not separately stated the entire award is principal. The rule is the same in the 1931 and 1962 Acts.

§ 68-10-405. Rental property.

To the extent that a trustee accounts for receipts from rental property pursuant to this section, the trustee shall allocate to income an amount received as rent of real or personal property, including an amount received for cancellation or renewal of a lease. An amount received as a refundable deposit, including a security deposit or a deposit that is to be applied as rent for future periods, must be added to principal and held subject to the terms of the lease and is not available for distribution to a beneficiary until the trustee’s contractual obligations have been satisfied with respect to that amount.

History.

I.C.,§ 68-10-405, as added by 2001, ch. 261, § 2, p. 943.

Official Comment

Application of Section 403. This section applies to the extent that the trustee does not account separately under Section 403 for the management of rental properties owned by the trust.

Receipts that are capital in nature. A portion of the payment under a lease may be a reimbursement of principal expenditures for improvements to the leased property that is characterized as rent for purposes of invoking contractual or statutory remedies for nonpayment. If the trustee is accounting for rental income under Section 405, a transfer from income to reimburse principal may be appropriate under Section 504 to the extent that some of the “rent” is really a reimbursement for improvements. This set of facts could also be a relevant factor for a trustee to consider under Section 104(b) in deciding whether and to what extent to make an adjustment between principal and income under Section 104(a) after considering the return from the portfolio as a whole.

§ 68-10-406. Obligation to pay money.

  1. An amount received as interest, whether determined at a fixed, variable or floating rate, on an obligation to pay money to the trustee, including an amount received as consideration for prepaying principal, must be allocated to income without any provision for amortization of premium.
  2. A trustee shall allocate to principal an amount received from the sale, redemption, or other disposition of an obligation to pay money to the trustee more than one (1) year after it is purchased or acquired by the trustee, including an obligation whose purchase price or value when it is acquired is less than its value at maturity. If the obligation matures within one (1) year after it is purchased or acquired by the trustee, an amount received in excess of its purchase price or its value when acquired by the trust must be allocated to income.
  3. This section does not apply to an obligation to which section 68-10-409, 68-10-410, 68-10-411, 68-10-412, 68-10-414 or 68-10-415, Idaho Code, applies.
History.

I.C.,§ 68-10-406, as added by 2001, ch. 261, § 2, p. 943.

Official Comment

Variable or floating interest rates. The reference in subsection (a) to variable or floating interest rate obligations is intended to clarify that, even though an obligation’s interest rate may change from time to time based upon changes in an index or other market indicator, an obligation to pay money containing a variable or floating rate provision is subject to this section and is not to be treated as a derivative financial instrument under Section 414.

Discount obligations. Subsection (b) applies to all obligations acquired at a discount, including short-term obligations such as U.S. Treasury Bills, long-term obligations such as U.S. Savings Bonds, zero-coupon bonds, and discount bonds that pay interest during part, but not all, of the period before maturity. Under subsection (b), the entire increase in value of these obligations is principal when the trustee receives the proceeds from the disposition unless the obligation, when acquired, has a maturity of less than one year. In order to have one rule that applies to all discount obligations, the Act eliminates the provision in the 1962 Act for the payment from principal of an amount equal to the increase in the value of U.S. Series E bonds. The provision for bonds that mature within one year after acquisition by the trustee is derived from the Illinois act. 760 ILCS 15/8 (1996).

Subsection (b) also applies to inflation-indexed bonds—any increase in principal due to inflation after issuance is principal upon redemption if the bond matures more than one year after the trustee acquires it; if it matures within one year, all of the increase, including any attributable to an inflation adjustment, is income.

Effect of Section 104. In deciding whether and to what extent to exercise the power to adjust between principal and income granted by Section 104(a), a relevant factor for the trustee to consider is the effect on the portfolio as a whole of having a portion of the assets invested in bonds that do not pay interest currently.

§ 68-10-407. Insurance policies and similar contracts.

  1. Except as otherwise provided in subsection (b) of this section, a trustee shall allocate to principal the proceeds of a life insurance policy or other contract in which the trust or its trustee is named as beneficiary, including a contract that insures the trust or its trustee against loss for damage to, destruction of, or loss of title to a trust asset. The trustee shall allocate dividends on an insurance policy to income if the premiums on the policy are paid from income, and to principal if the premiums are paid from principal.
  2. A trustee shall allocate to income proceeds of a contract that insures the trustee against loss of occupancy or other use by an income beneficiary, loss of income or, subject to section 68-10-403, Idaho Code, loss of profits from a business.
  3. This section does not apply to a contract to which section 68-10-409, Idaho Code, applies.
History.

I.C.,§ 68-10-407, as added by 2001, ch. 261, § 2, p. 943.

§ 68-10-408. Insubstantial allocations not required.

If a trustee determines that an allocation between principal and income required by section 68-10-409, 68-10-410, 68-10-411, 68-10-412 or 68-10-415, Idaho Code, is insubstantial, the trustee may allocate the entire amount to principal unless one (1) of the circumstances described in section 68-10-104(c), Idaho Code, applies to the allocation. This power may be exercised by a cotrustee in the circumstances described in section 68-10-104(d), Idaho Code, and may be released for the reasons and in the manner described in section 68-10-104(e), Idaho Code. An allocation is presumed to be insubstantial if:

  1. The amount of the allocation would increase or decrease net income in an accounting period, as determined before the allocation, by less than ten percent (10%); or
  2. The value of the asset producing the receipt for which the allocation would be made is less than ten percent (10%) of the total value of the trust’s assets at the beginning of the accounting period.
History.

I.C.,§ 68-10-408, as added by 2001, ch. 261, § 2, p. 943.

Official Comment

This section is intended to relieve a trustee from making relatively small allocations while preserving the trustee’s right to do so if an allocation is large in terms of absolute dollars.

For example, assume that a trust’s assets, which include a working interest in an oil well, have a value of $1,000,000; the net income from the assets other than the working interest is $40,000; and the net receipts from the working interest are $400. The trustee may allocate all of the net receipts from the working interest to principal instead of allocating 10%, or $40, to income under Section 411. If the net receipts from the working interest are $35,000, so that the amount allocated to income under Section 411 would be $3,500, the trustee may decide that this amount is sufficiently significant to the income beneficiary that the allocation provided for by Section 411 should be made, even though the trustee is still permitted under Section 408 to allocate all of the net receipts to principal because the $3,500 would increase the net income of $40,000, as determined before making an allocation under Section 411, by less than 10%. Section 408 will also relieve a trustee from having to allocate net receipts from the sale of trees in a small woodlot between principal and income.

While the allocation to principal of small amounts under this section should not be a cause for concern for tax purposes, allocations are not permitted under this section in circumstances described in Section 104(c) to eliminate claims that the power in this section has adverse tax consequences.

§ 68-10-409. Deferred compensation, annuities, and similar payments.

  1. In this section:
    1. “Payment” means a payment that a trustee may receive over a fixed number of years or during the life of one (1) or more individuals because of services rendered or property transferred to the payer in exchange for future payments. The term includes a payment made in money or property from the payer’s general assets or from a separate fund created by the payer. For purposes of subsections (d), (e), (f) and (g) of this section, the term also includes any payment from any separate fund, regardless of the reason for the payment.
    2. “Separate fund” includes a private or commercial annuity, an individual retirement account, and a pension, profit-sharing, stock-bonus or stock-ownership plan.
  2. To the extent that a payment is characterized as interest, a dividend or a payment made in lieu of interest or a dividend, a trustee shall allocate the payment to income. The trustee shall allocate to principal the balance of the payment and any other payment received in the same accounting period that is not characterized as interest, a dividend or an equivalent payment.
  3. If no part of a payment is characterized as interest, a dividend or an equivalent payment, and all or part of the payment is required to be made, a trustee shall allocate to income ten percent (10%) of the part that is required to be made during the accounting period and the balance to principal. If no part of a payment is required to be made or the payment received is the entire amount to which the trustee is entitled, the trustee shall allocate the entire payment to principal. For purposes of this subsection, a payment is not “required to be made” to the extent that it is made because the trustee exercises a right of withdrawal.
  4. Except as otherwise provided in subsection (e) of this section, subsections (f) and (g) of this section apply, and subsections (b) and (c) of this section do not apply, in determining the allocation of a payment made from a separate fund to:
    1. A trust to which an election to qualify for a marital deduction under section 2056(b)(7) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, 26 U.S.C. section 2056(b)(7), as amended, has been made; or
    2. A trust that qualifies for the marital deduction under section 2056(b)(5) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, 26 U.S.C. section 2056(b)(5), as amended.
  5. Subsections (d), (f) and (g) of this section do not apply if and to the extent that the series of payments would, without the application of subsection (d) of this section, qualify for the marital deduction under section 2056(b)(7)(C) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, 26 U.S.C. section 2056(b)(7)(C), as amended.
  6. A trustee shall determine the internal income of each separate fund for the accounting period as if the separate fund were a trust subject to this act. Upon request of the surviving spouse, the trustee shall demand that the person administering the separate fund distribute the internal income to the trust. The trustee shall allocate a payment from the separate fund to income to the extent of the internal income of the separate fund and distribute that amount to the surviving spouse. The trustee shall allocate the balance of the payment to principal. Upon request of the surviving spouse, the trustee shall allocate principal to income to the extent the internal income of the separate fund exceeds payments made from the separate fund to the trust during the accounting period.
  7. If a trustee cannot determine the internal income of a separate fund but can determine the value of the separate fund, the internal income of the separate fund is deemed to equal four percent (4%) of the fund’s value, according to the most recent statement of value preceding the beginning of the accounting period. If the trustee can determine neither the internal income of the separate fund nor the fund’s value, the internal income of the fund is deemed to equal the product of the interest rate and the present value of the expected future payments, as determined under section 7520 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, 26 U.S.C. section 7520, as amended, for the month preceding the accounting period for which the computation is made. (h) This section does not apply to a payment to which section 68-10-410, Idaho Code, applies.
History.

I.C.,§ 68-10-409, as added by 2001, ch. 261, § 2, p. 943; am. 2009, ch. 64, § 1, p. 175.

STATUTORY NOTES

Amendments.

The 2009 amendment, by ch. 64, added the subsection (a)(1) and (a)(2) designations; added the last sentence in subsection (a)(1); in subsection (a)(2), added “Separate fund’ includes”; in subsection (b), deleted “or” preceding “a dividend” and substituted “allocate the payment to income” for “allocate it to income”; rewrote subsection (d), which formerly read: “If, to obtain an estate tax marital deduction for a trust, a trustee must allocate more of a payment to income than provided for by this section, the trustee shall allocate to income the additional amount necessary to obtain the marital deduction”; and added subsections (d)(1) and (d)(2) and (e) through (g), redesignating former subsection (e) as subsection (h).

Official Comment

Scope. Section 409 applies to amounts received under contractual arrangements that provide for payments to a third party beneficiary as a result of services rendered or property transferred to the payer. While the right to receive such payments is a liquidating asset of the kind described in Section 410 (i.e., “an asset whose value will diminish or terminate because the asset is expected to produce receipts for a period of limited duration”), these payment rights are covered separately in Section 409 because of their special characteristics.

Section 409 applies to receipts from all forms of annuities and deferred compensation arrangements, whether the payment will be received by the trust in a lump sum or in installments over a period of years. It applies to bonuses that may be received over two or three years and payments that may last for much longer periods, including payments from an individual retirement account (IRA), deferred compensation plan (whether qualified or not qualified for special federal income tax treatment), and insurance renewal commissions. It applies to a retirement plan to which the settlor has made contributions, just as it applies to an annuity policy that the settlor may have purchased individually, and it applies to variable annuities, deferred annuities, annuities issued by commercial insurance companies, and “private annuities” arising from the sale of property to another individual or entity in exchange for payments that are to be made for the life of one or more individuals. The section applies whether the payments begin when the payment right becomes subject to the trust or are deferred until a future date, and it applies whether payments are made in cash or in kind, such as employer stock (in-kind payments usually will be made in a single distribution that will be allocated to principal under the second sentence of subsection (c)). The 1962 Act. Under Section 12 of the 1962 Act, receipts from “rights to receive payments on a contract for deferred compensation” are allocated to income each year in an amount “not in excess of 5% per year” of the property’s inventory value. While “not in excess of 5%” suggests that the annual allocation may range from zero to 5% of the inventory value, in practice the rule is usually treated as prescribing a 5% allocation. The inventory value is usually the present value of all the future payments, and since the inventory value is determined as of the date on which the payment right becomes subject to the trust, the inventory value, and thus the amount of the annual income allocation, depends significantly on the applicable interest rate on the decedent’s date of death. That rate may be much higher or lower than the average long-term interest rate. The amount determined under the 5% formula tends to become fixed and remain unchanged even though the amount received by the trust increases or decreases.

Allocations Under Section 409(b). Section 409(b) applies to plans whose terms characterize payments made under the plan as dividends, interest, or payments in lieu of dividends or interest. For example, some deferred compensation plans that hold debt obligations or stock of the plan’s sponsor in an account for future delivery to the person rendering the services provide for the annual payment to that person of dividends received on the stock or interest received on the debt obligations. Other plans provide that the account of the person rendering the services shall be credited with “phantom” shares of stock and require an annual payment that is equivalent to the dividends that would be received on that number of shares if they were actually issued; or a plan may entitle the person rendering the services to receive a fixed dollar amount in the future and provide for the annual payment of interest on the deferred amount during the period prior to its payment. Under Section 409(b), payments of dividends, interest or payments in lieu of dividends or interest under plans of this type are allocated to income; all other payments received under these plans are allocated to principal.

Section 409(b) does not apply to an IRA or an arrangement with payment provisions similar to an IRA. IRAs and similar arrangements are subject to the provisions in Section 409(c).

Allocations Under Section 409(c). The focus of Section 409, for purposes of allocating payments received by a trust to or between principal and income, is on the payment right rather than on assets that may be held in a fund from which the payments are made. Thus, if an IRA holds a portfolio of marketable stocks and bonds, the amount received by the IRA as dividends and interest is not taken into account in determining the principal and income allocation except to the extent that the Internal Revenue Service may require them to be taken into account when the payment is received by a trust that qualifies for the estate tax marital deduction (a situation that is provided for in Section 409(d)). An IRA is subject to federal income tax rules that require payments to begin by a particular date and be made over a specific number of years or a period measured by the lives of one or more persons. The payment right of a trust that is named as a beneficiary of an IRA is not a right to receive particular items that are paid to the IRA, but is instead the right to receive an amount determined by dividing the value of the IRA by the remaining number of years in the payment period. This payment right is similar to the right to receive a unitrust amount, which is normally expressed as an amount equal to a percentage of the value of the unitrust assets without regard to dividends or interest that may be received by the unitrust.

An amount received from an IRA or a plan with a payment provision similar to that of an IRA is allocated under Section 409(c), which differentiates between payments that are required to be made and all other payments. To the extent that a payment is required to be made (either under federal income tax rules or, in the case of a plan that is not subject to those rules, under the terms of the plan), 10% of the amount received is allocated to income and the balance is allocated to principal. All other payments are allocated to principal because they represent a change in the form of a principal asset; Section 409 follows the rule in Section 404(2), which provides that money or property received from a change in the form of a principal asset be allocated to principal. Section 409(c) produces an allocation to income that is similar to the allocation under the 1962 Act formula if the annual payments are the same throughout the payment period, and it is simpler to administer. The amount allocated to income under Section 409 is not dependent upon the interest rate that is used for valuation purposes when the decedent dies, and if the payments received by the trust increase or decrease from year to year because the fund from which the payment is made increases or decreases in value, the amount allocated to income will also increase or decrease.

Marital deduction requirements.

Marital deduction requirements. When an IRA or other retirement arrangement (a “plan”) is payable to a marital deduction trust, the IRS treats the plan as a separate property interest that itself must qualify for the marital deduction. IRS Revenue Ruling 2006-26 said that, as written, Section 409 does not cause a trust to qualify for the IRS’ safe harbors. Revenue Ruling 2006-26 was limited in scope to certain situations involving IRAs and defined contribution retirement plans. Without necessarily agreeing with the IRS’ position in that ruling, the revision to this section is designed to satisfy the IRS’ safe harbor and to address concerns that might be raised for similar assets. No IRS pronouncements have addressed the scope of Code § 2056(b)(7)(C).

Subsection (f) requires the trustee to demand certain distributions if the surviving spouse so requests. The safe harbor of Revenue Ruling 2006-26 requires that the surviving spouse be separately entitled to demand the fund’s income (without regard to the income from the trust’s other assets) and the income from the other assets (without regard to the fund’s income). In any event, the surviving spouse is not required to demand that the trustee distribute all of the fund’s income from the fund or from other trust assets. Treas. Reg. § 20.2056(b)-5(f)(8).

Subsection (f) also recognizes that the trustee might not control the payments that the trustee receives and provides a remedy to the surviving spouse if the distributions under subsection (d)(1) are insufficient.

Subsection (g) addresses situations where, due to lack of information provided by the fund’s administrator, the trustee is unable to determine the fund’s actual income. The bracketed language is the range approved for unitrust payments by Treas. Reg. § 1.643(b)1. In determining the value for purposes of applying the unitrust percentage, the trustee would seek to obtain the value of the assets as of the most recent statement of value immediately preceding the beginning of the year. For example, suppose a trust’s accounting period is January 1 through December 31. If a retirement plan administrator furnishes information annually each September 30 and declines to provide information as of December 31, then the trustee may rely on the September 30 value to determine the distribution for the following year. For funds whose values are not readily available, subsection (g) relies on Code section 7520 valuation methods because many funds described in Section 409 are annuities, and one consistent set of valuation principles should apply whether or not the fund is, in fact, an annuity.

Application of Section 104. Section 104(a) of this Act gives a trustee who is acting under the prudent investor rule the power to adjust from principal to income if, considering the portfolio as a whole and not just receipts from deferred compensation, the trustee determines that an adjustment is necessary. See Example (5) in the Comment following Section 104.

§ 68-10-410. Liquidating asset.

  1. In this section, “liquidating asset” means an asset whose value will diminish or terminate because the asset is expected to produce receipts for a period of limited duration. The term includes a leasehold, patent, copyright, royalty right and right to receive payments during a period of more than one (1) year under an arrangement that does not provide for the payment of interest on the unpaid balance. The term does not include a payment subject to section 68-10-409, Idaho Code, resources subject to section 68-10-411, Idaho Code, timber subject to section 68-10-412, Idaho Code, an activity subject to section 68-10-414, Idaho Code, an asset subject to section 68-10-415, Idaho Code, or any asset for which the trustee establishes a reserve for depreciation under section 68-10-503, Idaho Code.
  2. A trustee shall allocate to income ten percent (10%) of the receipts from a liquidating asset and the balance to principal.
History.

I.C.,§ 68-10-410, as added by 2001, ch. 261, § 2, p. 943.

Official Comment

Prior Acts. Section 11 of the 1962 Act allocates receipts from “property subject to depletion” to income in an amount “not in excess of 5%” of the asset’s inventory value. The 1931 Act has a similar 5% rule that applies when the trustee is under a duty to change the form of the investment. The 5% rule imposes on a trust the obligation to pay a fixed annuity to the income beneficiary until the asset is exhausted. Under both the 1931 and 1962 Acts the balance of each year’s receipts is added to principal. A fixed payment can produce unfair results. The remainder beneficiary receives all of the receipts from unexpected growth in the asset, e.g., if royalties on a patent or copyright increase significantly. Conversely, if the receipts diminish more rapidly than expected, most of the amount received by the trust will be allocated to income and little to principal. Moreover, if the annual payments remain the same for the life of the asset, the amount allocated to principal will usually be less than the original inventory value. For these reasons, Section 410 abandons the annuity approach under the 5% rule.

Lottery payments. The reference in subsection (a) to rights to receive payments under an arrangement that does not provide for the payment of interest includes state lottery prizes and similar fixed amounts payable over time that are not deferred compensation arrangements covered by Section 409.

§ 68-10-411. Minerals, water and other natural resources.

  1. To the extent that a trustee accounts for receipts from an interest in minerals or other natural resources pursuant to this section, the trustee shall allocate them as follows:
    1. If received as nominal delay rental or nominal annual rent on a lease, a receipt must be allocated to income;
    2. If received from a production payment, a receipt must be allocated to income if and to the extent that the agreement creating the production payment provides a factor for interest or its equivalent. The balance must be allocated to principal;
    3. If an amount received as a royalty, shut-in-well payment, take-or-pay payment, bonus, or delay rental is more than nominal, ninety percent (90%) must be allocated to principal and the balance to income;
    4. If an amount is received from a working interest or any other interest not provided for in paragraph (1), (2) or (3) of this subsection, ninety percent (90%) of the net amount received must be allocated to principal and the balance to income.
  2. An amount received on account of an interest in water that is renewable must be allocated to income. If the water is not renewable, ninety percent (90%) of the amount must be allocated to principal and the balance to income.
  3. This chapter applies whether or not a decedent or donor was extracting minerals, water, or other natural resources before the interest became subject to the trust.
  4. If a trust owns an interest in minerals, water or other natural resources on the effective date of this chapter, the trustee may allocate receipts from the interest as provided in this chapter or in the manner used by the trustee before the effective date of this chapter. If the trust acquires an interest in minerals, water or other natural resources after the effective date of this chapter, the trustee shall allocate receipts from the interest as provided in this chapter.
History.

I.C.,§ 68-10-411, as added by 2001, ch. 261, § 2, p. 943.

STATUTORY NOTES

Compiler’s Notes.

The phrase “the effective date of this chapter” in subsection (d) refers to the effective date of S.L. 2001, chapter 261, which was effective July 1, 2001.

Official Comment

Prior Acts. The 1962 Act allocates to principal as a depletion allowance, 27-1/2% of the gross receipts, but not more than 50% of the net receipts after paying expenses. The Internal Revenue Code no longer provides for a 27-1/2% depletion allowance, although the major oil-producing States have retained the 27-1/2% provision in their principal and income acts (Texas amended its Act in 1993, but did not change the depletion provision). Section 9 of the 1931 Act allocates all of the net proceeds received as consideration for the “permanent severance of natural resources from the lands” to principal. Section 411 allocates 90% of the net receipts to principal and 10% to income. A depletion provision that is tied to past or present Code provisions is undesirable because it causes a large portion of the oil and gas receipts to be paid out as income. As wells are depleted, the amount received by the income beneficiary falls drastically. Allocating a larger portion of the receipts to principal enables the trustee to acquire other income producing assets that will continue to produce income when the mineral reserves are exhausted.

Application of Sections 403 and 408. This section applies to the extent that the trustee does not account separately for receipts from minerals and other natural resources under Section 403 or allocate all of the receipts to principal under Section 408.

Open mine doctrine. The purpose of Section 411(c) is to abolish the “open mine doctrine” as it may apply to the rights of an income beneficiary and a remainder beneficiary in receipts from the production of minerals from land owned or leased by a trust. Instead, such receipts are to be allocated to or between principal and income in accordance with the provisions of this Act. For a discussion of the open mine doctrine, see generally 3A Austin W. Scott & William F. Fratcher, The Law of Trusts § 239.3 (4th ed. 1988), and Nutter v. Stockton, 626 P.2d 861 (Okla. 1981).

Effective date provision. Section 9(b) of the 1962 Act provides that the natural resources provision does not apply to property interests held by the trust on the effective date of the Act, which reflects concerns about the constitutionality of applying a retroactive administrative provision to interests in real estate, based on the opinion in the Oklahoma case of Franklin v. Margay Oil Corporation, 153 P.2d 486, 501 (Okla. 1944). Section 411(d) permits a trustee to use either the method provided for in this Act or the method used before the Act takes effect. Lawyers in jurisdictions other than Oklahoma may conclude that retroactivity is not a problem as to property situated in their States, and this provision permits trustees to decide, based on advice from counsel in States whose law may be different from that of Oklahoma, whether they may apply this provision retroactively if they conclude that to do so is in the best interests of the beneficiaries.

If the property is in a State other than the State where the trust is administered, the trustee must be aware that the law of the property’s situs may control this question. The outcome turns on a variety of questions: whether the terms of the trust specify that the law of a State other than the situs of the property shall govern the administration of the trust, and whether the courts will follow the terms of the trust; whether the trust’s asset is the land itself or a leasehold interest in the land (as it frequently is with oil and gas property); whether a leasehold interest or its proceeds should be classified as real property or personal property, and if as personal property, whether applicable state law treats it as a movable or an immovable for conflict of laws purposes. See 5A Austin W. Scott & William F. Fratcher, The Law of Trusts §§ 648, at 531, 533-534; § 657, at 600 (4th ed. 1989).

§ 68-10-412. Timber.

  1. To the extent that a trustee accounts for receipts from the sale of timber and related products pursuant to this section, the trustee shall allocate the net receipts:
    1. To income to the extent that the amount of timber removed from the land does not exceed the rate of growth of the timber during the accounting periods in which a beneficiary has a mandatory income interest;
    2. To principal to the extent that the amount of timber removed from the land exceeds the rate of growth of the timber or the net receipts are from the sale of standing timber;
    3. To or between income and principal if the net receipts are from the lease of timberland or from a contract to cut timber from land owned by a trust, by determining the amount of timber removed from the land under the lease or contract and applying the rules in paragraphs (1) and (2) of this subsection; or
    4. To principal to the extent that advance payments, bonuses, and other payments are not allocated pursuant to paragraph (1), (2) or (3) of this subsection.
  2. In determining net receipts to be allocated pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, a trustee shall deduct and transfer to principal a reasonable amount for depletion.
  3. This chapter applies whether or not a decedent or transferor was harvesting timber from the property before it became subject to the trust.
  4. If a trust owns an interest in timberland on the effective date of this chapter, the trustee may allocate net receipts from the sale of timber and related products as provided in this chapter or in the manner used by the trustee before the effective date of this chapter. If the trust acquires an interest in timberland after the effective date of this chapter, the trustee shall allocate net receipts from the sale of timber and related products as provided in this chapter.
History.

I.C.,§ 68-10-412, as added by 2001, ch. 261, § 2, p. 943.

Official Comment

Scope of section. The rules in Section 412 are intended to apply to net receipts from the sale of trees and by-products from harvesting and processing trees without regard to the kind of trees that are cut or whether the trees are cut before or after a particular number of years of growth. The rules apply to the sale of trees that are expected to produce lumber for building purposes, trees sold as pulpwood, and Christmas and other ornamental trees. Subsection (a) applies to net receipts from property owned by the trustee and property leased by the trustee. The Act is not intended to prevent a tenant in possession of the property from using wood that he cuts on the property for personal, noncommercial purposes, such as a Christmas tree, firewood, mending old fences or building new fences, or making repairs to structures on the property.

Under subsection (a), the amount of net receipts allocated to income depends upon whether the amount of timber removed is more or less than the rate of growth. The method of determining the amount of timber removed and the rate of growth is up to the trustee, based on methods customarily used for the kind of timber involved.

Application of Sections 403 and 408. This section applies to the extent that the trustee does not account separately for net receipts from the sale of timber and related products under Section 403 or allocate all of the receipts to principal under Section 408. The option to account for net receipts separately under Section 403 takes into consideration the possibility that timber harvesting operations may have been conducted before the timber property became subject to the trust, and that it may make sense to continue using accounting methods previously established for the property. It also permits a trustee to use customary accounting practices for timber operations even if no harvesting occurred on the property before it became subject to the trust.

§ 68-10-413. Property not productive of income.

  1. If a marital deduction is allowed for all or part of a trust whose assets consist substantially of property that does not provide the spouse with sufficient income from or use of the trust assets, and if the amounts that the trustee transfers from principal to income under section 68-10-104, Idaho Code, and distributes to the spouse from principal pursuant to the terms of the trust are insufficient to provide the spouse with the beneficial enjoyment required to obtain the marital deduction, the spouse may require the trustee to make property productive of income, convert property within a reasonable time, or exercise the power conferred by section 68-10-104(a), Idaho Code. The trustee may decide which action or combination of actions to take.
  2. In cases not governed by subsection (a) of this section, proceeds from the sale or other disposition of an asset are principal without regard to the amount of income the asset produces during any accounting period.
History.

I.C.,§ 68-10-413, as added by 2001, ch. 261, § 2, p. 943.

Official Comment

Prior Acts’ Conflict with Uniform Prudent Investor Act. Section 2(b) of the Uniform Prudent Investor Act provides that “[a] trustee’s investment and management decisions respecting individual assets must be evaluated not in isolation but in the context of the trust portfolio as a whole ... .” The underproductive property provisions in Section 12 of the 1962 Act and Section 11 of the 1931 Act give the income beneficiary a right to receive a portion of the proceeds from the sale of underproductive property as “delayed income.” In each Act the provision applies on an asset by asset basis and not by taking into consideration the trust portfolio as a whole, which conflicts with the basic precept in Section 2(b) of the Prudent Investor Act. Moreover, in determining the amount of delayed income, the prior Acts do not permit a trustee to take into account the extent to which the trustee may have distributed principal to the income beneficiary, under principal invasion provisions in the terms of the trust, to compensate for insufficient income from the unproductive asset. Under Section 104(b)(7) of this Act, a trustee must consider prior distributions of principal to the income beneficiary in deciding whether and to what extent to exercise the power to adjust conferred by Section 104(a).

Duty to make property productive of income. In order to implement the Uniform Prudent Investor Act, this Act abolishes the right to receive delayed income from the sale proceeds of an asset that produces little or no income, but it does not alter existing state law regarding the income beneficiary’s right to compel the trustee to make property productive of income. As the law continues to develop in this area, the duty to make property productive of current income in a particular situation should be determined by taking into consideration the performance of the portfolio as a whole and the extent to which a trustee makes principal distributions to the income beneficiary under the terms of the trust and adjustments between principal and income under Section 104 of this Act. Trusts for which the value of the right to receive income is important for tax reasons may be affected by Reg. § 1.7520-3(b)(2)(v) Example (1), § 20.7520-3(b)(2)(v) Examples (1) and (2), and § 25.7520-3(b)(2)(v) Examples (1) and (2), which provide that if the income beneficiary does not have the right to compel the trustee to make the property productive, the income interest is considered unproductive and may not be valued actuarially under those sections.

Marital deduction trusts. Subsection (a) draws on language in Reg. § 20.2056(b)-5(f)(4) and (5) to enable a trust for a spouse to qualify for a marital deduction if applicable state law is unclear about the spouse’s right to compel the trustee to make property productive of income. The trustee should also consider the application of Section 104 of this Act and the provisions of Restatement of Trusts 3d: Prudent Investor Rule § 240, at 186, app. § 240, at 252 (1992). Example (6) in the Comment to Section 104 describes a situation involving the payment from income of carrying charges on unproductive real estate in which Section 104 may apply.

Once the two conditions have occurred — insufficient beneficial enjoyment from the property and the spouse’s demand that the trustee take action under this section — the trustee must act; but instead of the formulaic approach of the 1962 Act, which is triggered only if the trustee sells the property, this Act permits the trustee to decide whether to make the property productive of income, convert it, transfer funds from principal to income, or to take some combination of those actions. The trustee may rely on the power conferred by Section 104(a) to adjust from principal to income if the trustee decides that it is not feasible or appropriate to make the property productive of income or to convert the property. Given the purpose of Section 413, the power under Section 104(a) would be exercised to transfer principal to income and not to transfer income to principal.

Section 413 does not apply to a so-called “estate” trust, which will qualify for the marital deduction, even though the income may be accumulated for a term of years or for the life of the surviving spouse, if the terms of the trust require the principal and undistributed income to be paid to the surviving spouse’s estate when the spouse dies. Reg. § 20.2056(c)-2(b)(1)(iii).

§ 68-10-414. Derivatives and options.

  1. In this section, “derivative” means a contract or financial instrument or a combination of contracts and financial instruments which give a trust the right or obligation to participate in some or all changes in the price of a tangible or intangible asset or group of assets, or changes in a rate, an index of prices or rates, or other market indicator for an asset or a group of assets.
  2. To the extent that a trustee does not account under section 68-10-403, Idaho Code, for transactions in derivatives, the trustee shall allocate to principal receipts from and disbursements made in connection with those transactions.
  3. If a trustee grants an option to buy property from the trust, whether or not the trust owns the property when the option is granted, grants an option that permits another person to sell property to the trust, or acquires an option to buy property for the trust or an option to sell an asset owned by the trust, and the trustee or other owner of the asset is required to deliver the asset if the option is exercised, an amount received for granting the option must be allocated to principal. An amount paid to acquire the option must be paid from principal. A gain or loss realized upon the exercise of an option, including an option granted to a trustor of the trust for services rendered, must be allocated to principal.
History.

I.C.,§ 68-10-414, as added by 2001, ch. 261, § 2, p. 943.

Official Comment

Scope and application. It is difficult to predict how frequently and to what extent trustees will invest directly in derivative financial instruments rather than participating indirectly through investment entities that may utilize these instruments in varying degrees. If the trust participates in derivatives indirectly through an entity, an amount received from the entity will be allocated under Section 401 and not Section 414. If a trustee invests directly in derivatives to a significant extent, the expectation is that receipts and disbursements related to derivatives will be accounted for under Section 403; if a trustee chooses not to account under Section 403, Section 414(b) provides the default rule. Certain types of option transactions in which trustees may engage are dealt with in subsection (c) to distinguish those transactions from ones involving options that are embedded in derivative financial instruments.

Definition of “derivative.” “Derivative” is a difficult term to define because new derivatives are invented daily as dealers tailor their terms to achieve specific financial objectives for particular clients. Since derivatives are typically contract-based, a derivative can probably be devised for almost any set of objectives if another party can be found who is willing to assume the obligations required to meet those objectives.

The most comprehensive definition of derivative is in the Exposure Draft of a Proposed Statement of Financial Accounting Standards titled “Accounting for Derivative and Similar Financial Instruments and for Hedging Activities,” which was released by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) on June 20, 1996 (No. 162-B). The definition in Section 414(a) is derived in part from the FASB definition. The purpose of the definition in subsection (a) is to implement the substantive rule in subsection (b) that provides for all receipts and disbursements to be allocated to principal to the extent the trustee elects not to account for transactions in derivatives under Section 403. As a result, it is much shorter than the FASB definition, which serves much more ambitious objectives. A derivative is frequently described as including futures, forwards, swaps and options, terms that also require definition, and the definition in this Act avoids these terms. FASB used the same approach, explaining in paragraph 65 of the Exposure Draft:

The definition of derivative financial instrument in this Statement includes those financial instruments generally considered to be derivatives, such as forwards, futures, swaps, options, and similar instruments. The Board considered defining a derivative financial instrument by merely referencing those commonly understood instruments, similar to paragraph 5 of Statement 119, which says that “... a derivative financial instrument is a futures, forward, swap, or option contract, or other financial instrument with similar characteristics.” However, the continued development of financial markets and innovative financial instruments could ultimately render a definition based on examples inadequate and obsolete. The Board, therefore, decided to base the definition of a derivative financial instrument on a description of the common characteristics of those instruments in order to accommodate the accounting for newly developed derivatives. (Footnote omitted.)

Marking to market. A gain or loss that occurs because the trustee marks securities to market or to another value during an accounting period is not a transaction in a derivative financial instrument that is income or principal under the Act — only cash receipts and disbursements, and the receipt of property in exchange for a principal asset, affect a trust’s principal and income accounts.

Receipt of property other than cash. If a trustee receives property other than cash upon the settlement of a derivatives transaction, that property would be principal under Section 404(2).

Options. Options to which subsection (c) applies include an option to purchase real estate owned by the trustee and a put option purchased by a trustee to guard against a drop in value of a large block of marketable stock that must be liquidated to pay estate taxes. Subsection (c) would also apply to a continuing and regular practice of selling call options on securities owned by the trust if the terms of the option require delivery of the securities. It does not apply if the consideration received or given for the option is something other than cash or property, such as cross-options granted in a buy-sell agreement between owners of an entity.

§ 68-10-415. Asset-backed securities.

  1. In this section, “asset-backed security” means an asset whose value is based upon the right it gives the owner to receive distributions from the proceeds of financial assets that provide collateral for the security. The term includes an asset that gives the owner the right to receive from the collateral financial assets only the interest or other current return or only the proceeds other than interest or current return. The term does not include an asset to which section 68-10-401 or 68-10-409, Idaho Code, applies.
  2. If a trust receives a payment from interest or other current return and from other proceeds of the collateral financial assets, the trustee shall allocate to income the portion of the payment which the payer identifies as being from interest or other current return and shall allocate the balance of the payment to principal.
  3. If a trust receives one (1) or more payments in exchange for the trust’s entire interest in an asset-backed security in one (1) accounting period, the trustee shall allocate the payments to principal. If a payment is one (1) of a series of payments that will result in the liquidation of the trust’s interest in the security over more than one (1) accounting period, the trustee shall allocate ten percent (10%) of the payment to income and the balance to principal.
History.

I.C.,§ 68-10-415, as added by 2001, ch. 261, § 2, p. 943.

Official Comment

Scope of section. Typical asset-backed securities include arrangements in which debt obligations such as real estate mortgages, credit card receivables and auto loans are acquired by an investment trust and interests in the trust are sold to investors. The source for payments to an investor is the money received from principal and interest payments on the underlying debt. An asset-backed security includes an “interest only” or a “principal only” security that permits the investor to receive only the interest payments received from the bonds, mortgages or other assets that are the collateral for the asset-backed security, or only the principal payments made on those collateral assets. An asset-backed security also includes a security that permits the investor to participate in either the capital appreciation of an underlying security or in the interest or dividend return from such a security, such as the “Primes” and “Scores” issued by Americus Trust. An asset-backed security does not include an interest in a corporation, partnership, or an investment trust described in the Comment to Section 402, whose assets consist significantly or entirely of investment assets. Receipts from an instrument that do not come within the scope of this section or any other section of the Act would be allocated entirely to principal under the rule in Section 103(a)(4), and the trustee may then consider whether and to what extent to exercise the power to adjust in Section 104, taking into account the return from the portfolio as whole and other relevant factors.

Part 5 Allocation of Disbursements During Administration of Trust

§ 68-10-501. Disbursements from income.

A trustee shall make the following disbursements from income to the extent that they are not disbursements to which section 68-10-201(2)(B) or (2)(C), Idaho Code, applies:

  1. One-half (1/2) of the regular compensation of the trustee and of any person providing investment advisory or custodial services to the trustee;
  2. One-half (1/2) of all expenses for accountings, judicial proceedings, or other matters that involve both the income and remainder interests;
  3. All of the other ordinary expenses incurred in connection with the administration, management, or preservation of trust property and the distribution of income, including interest, ordinary repairs, regularly recurring taxes assessed against principal, and expenses of a proceeding or other matter that concerns primarily the income interest; and
  4. Recurring premiums on insurance covering the loss of a principal asset or the loss of income from or use of the asset.
History.

I.C.,§ 68-10-501, as added by 2001, ch. 261, § 2, p. 943.

Official Comment

Trustee fees. The regular compensation of a trustee or the trustee’s agent includes compensation based on a percentage of either principal or income or both.

Insurance premiums. The reference in paragraph (4) to “recurring” premiums is intended to distinguish premiums paid annually for fire insurance from premiums on title insurance, each of which covers the loss of a principal asset. Title insurance premiums would be a principal disbursement under Section 502(a)(5).

Regularly recurring taxes. The reference to “regularly recurring taxes assessed against principal” includes all taxes regularly imposed on real property and tangible and intangible personal property.

§ 68-10-502. Disbursements from principal.

  1. A trustee shall make the following disbursements from principal:
    1. The remaining one-half (1/2) of the disbursements described in section 68-10-501(1) and (2), Idaho Code;
    2. All of the trustee’s compensation calculated on principal as a fee for acceptance, distribution or termination, and disbursements made to prepare property for sale;
    3. Payments on the principal of a trust debt;
    4. Expenses of a proceeding that concerns primarily principal, including a proceeding to construe the trust or to protect the trust or its property;
    5. Premiums paid on a policy of insurance not described in section 68-10-501(4), Idaho Code, of which the trust is the owner and beneficiary;
    6. Estate, inheritance and other transfer taxes, including penalties, apportioned to the trust; and
    7. Disbursements related to environmental matters, including reclamation, assessing environmental conditions, remedying and removing environmental contamination, monitoring remedial activities and the release of substances, preventing future releases of substances, collecting amounts from persons liable or potentially liable for the costs of those activities, penalties imposed under environmental laws, rules or regulations and other payments made to comply with those laws, rules or regulations, statutory or common law claims by third parties, and defending claims based on environmental matters.
  2. If a principal asset is encumbered with an obligation that requires income from that asset to be paid directly to the creditor, the trustee shall transfer from principal to income an amount equal to the income paid to the creditor in reduction of the principal balance of the obligation.
History.

I.C.,§ 68-10-502, as added by 2001, ch. 261, § 2, p. 943.

Official Comment

Environmental expenses. All environmental expenses are payable from principal, subject to the power of the trustee to transfer funds to principal from income under Section 504. However, the Drafting Committee decided that it was not necessary to broaden this provision to cover other expenditures made under compulsion of governmental authority. See generally the annotation at 43 A.L.R.4th 1012 (Duty as Between Life Tenant and Remainderman with Respect to Cost of Improvements or Repairs Made Under Compulsion of Governmental Authority).

Environmental expenses paid by a trust are to be paid from principal under Section 502(a)(7) on the assumption that they will usually be extraordinary in nature. Environmental expenses might be paid from income if the trustee is carrying on a business that uses or sells toxic substances, in which case environmental cleanup costs would be a normal cost of doing business and would be accounted for under Section 403. In accounting under that Section, environmental costs will be a factor in determining how much of the net receipts from the business is trust income. Paying all other environmental expenses from principal is consistent with this Act’s approach regarding receipts — when a receipt is not clearly a current return on a principal asset, it should be added to principal because over time both the income and remainder beneficiaries benefit from this treatment. Here, allocating payments required by environmental laws to principal imposes the detriment of those payments over time on both the income and remainder beneficiaries. Under Sections 504(a) and 504(b)(5), a trustee who makes or expects to make a principal disbursement for an environmental expense described in Section 502(a)(7) is authorized to transfer an appropriate amount from income to principal to reimburse principal for disbursements made or to provide a reserve for future principal disbursements.

The first part of Section 502(a)(7) is based upon the definition of an “environmental remediation trust” in Treas. Reg. § 301.7701-4(e)(as amended in 1996). This is not because the Act applies to an environmental remediation trust, but because the definition is a useful and thoroughly vetted description of the kinds of expenses that a trustee owning contaminated property might incur. Expenses incurred to comply with environmental laws include the cost of environmental consultants, administrative proceedings and burdens of every kind imposed as the result of an administrative or judicial proceeding, even though the burden is not formally characterized as a penalty.

Title proceedings. Disbursements that are made to protect a trust’s property, referred to in Section 502(a)(4), include an “action to assure title” that is mentioned in Section 13(c)(2) of the 1962 Act.

Insurance premiums. Insurance premiums referred to in Section 502(a)(5) include title insurance premiums. They also include premiums on life insurance policies owned by the trust, which represent the trust’s periodic investment in the insurance policy. There is no provision in the 1962 Act for life insurance premiums.

Taxes. Generation-skipping transfer taxes are payable from principal under subsection (a)(6).

§ 68-10-503. Transfers from income to principal for depreciation.

  1. In this section, “depreciation” means a reduction in value due to wear, tear, decay, corrosion or gradual obsolescence of a fixed asset having a useful life of more than one (1) year.
  2. A trustee may transfer to principal a reasonable amount of the net cash receipts from a principal asset that is subject to depreciation, but may not transfer any amount for depreciation:
    1. Of that portion of real property used or available for use by a beneficiary as a residence or of tangible personal property held or made available for the personal use or enjoyment of a beneficiary;
    2. During the administration of a decedent’s estate; or
    3. Under this section if the trustee is accounting under section 68-10-403, Idaho Code, for the business or activity in which the asset is used.
  3. An amount transferred to principal need not be held as a separate fund.
History.

I.C.,§ 68-10-503, as added by 2001, ch. 261, § 2, p. 943.

Official Comment

Prior Acts. The 1931 Act has no provision for depreciation. Section 13(a)(2) of the 1962 Act provides that a charge shall be made against income for “... a reasonable allowance for depreciation on property subject to depreciation under generally accepted accounting principles ... .” That provision has been resisted by many trustees, who do not provide for any depreciation for a variety of reasons. One reason relied upon is that a charge for depreciation is not needed to protect the remainder beneficiaries if the value of the land is increasing; another is that generally accepted accounting principles may not require depreciation to be taken if the property is not part of a business. The Drafting Committee concluded that the decision to provide for depreciation should be discretionary with the trustee. The power to transfer funds from income to principal that is granted by this section is a discretionary power of administration referred to in Section 103(b), and in exercising the power a trustee must comply with Section 103(b).

One purpose served by transferring cash from income to principal for depreciation is to provide funds to pay the principal of an indebtedness secured by the depreciable property. Section 504(b)(4) permits the trustee to transfer additional cash from income to principal for this purpose to the extent that the amount transferred from income to principal for depreciation is less than the amount of the principal payments.

§ 68-10-504. Transfers from income to reimburse principal.

  1. If a trustee makes or expects to make a principal disbursement described in this section, the trustee may transfer an appropriate amount from income to principal in one (1) or more accounting periods to reimburse principal or to provide a reserve for future principal disbursements.
  2. Principal disbursements to which subsection (a) of this section applies include the following, but only to the extent that the trustee has not been and does not expect to be reimbursed by a third party:
    1. An amount chargeable to income but paid from principal because it is unusually large, including extraordinary repairs;
    2. A capital improvement to a principal asset, whether in the form of changes to an existing asset or the construction of a new asset, including special assessments;
    3. Disbursements made to prepare property for rental, including tenant allowances, leasehold improvements and broker’s commissions;
    4. Periodic payments on an obligation secured by a principal asset to the extent that the amount transferred from income to principal for depreciation is less than the periodic payments; and
    5. Disbursements described in section 68-10-502(a)(7), Idaho Code.
  3. If the asset whose ownership gives rise to the disbursements becomes subject to a successive income interest after an income interest ends, a trustee may continue to transfer amounts from income to principal as provided in subsection (a) of this section.
History.

I.C.,§ 68-10-504, as added by 2001, ch. 261, § 2, p. 943.

Official Comment

Prior Acts. The sources of Section 504 are Section 13(b) of the 1962 Act, which permits a trustee to “regularize distributions,” if charges against income are unusually large, by using “reserves or other reasonable means” to withhold sums from income distributions; Section 13(c)(3) of the 1962 Act, which authorizes a trustee to establish an allowance for depreciation out of income if principal is used for extraordinary repairs, capital improvements and special assessments; and Section 12(3) of the 1931 Act, which permits the trustee to spread income expenses of unusual amount “throughout a series of years.” Section 504 contains a more detailed enumeration of the circumstances in which this authority may be used, and includes in subsection (b)(4) the express authority to use income to make principal payments on a mortgage if the depreciation charge against income is less than the principal payments on the mortgage.

§ 68-10-505. Income taxes.

  1. A tax required to be paid by a trustee based on receipts allocated to income must be paid from income.
  2. A tax required to be paid by a trustee based on receipts allocated to principal must be paid from principal, even if the tax is called an income tax by the taxing authority.
  3. A tax required to be paid by a trustee on the trust’s share of an entity’s taxable income must be paid:
    1. From income to the extent that receipts from the entity are allocated only to income;
    2. From principal to the extent that receipts from the entity are allocated only to principal;
    3. Proportionately from principal and income to the extent that receipts from the entity are allocated to both income and principal; and
    4. From principal to the extent that the tax exceeds the total receipts from the entity.
  4. After applying subsections (a) through (c) of this section, the trustee shall adjust income or principal receipts to the extent that the trust’s taxes are reduced because the trust receives a deduction for payments made to a beneficiary.
History.

I.C.,§ 68-10-505, as added by 2001, ch. 261, § 2, p. 943; am. 2009, ch. 64, § 2, p. 175.

STATUTORY NOTES

Amendments.

The 2009 amendment, by ch. 64, rewrote the section, revising requirements for payment of a tax on the trust’s share of an entity’s taxable income and revising requirements for an adjustment to income or principal due to a tax deduction received by a trust for payments made to a beneficiary.

Official Comment
Taxes on Undistributed Entity Taxable Income.

Subsection (c) requires the trust to pay the taxes on its share of an entity’s taxable income from income or principal receipts to the extent that receipts from the entity are allocable to each. This assures the trust a source of cash to pay some or all of the taxes on its share of the entity’s taxable income. Subsection 505(d) recognizes that, except in the case of an Electing Small Business Trust (ESBT), a trust normally receives a deduction for amounts distributed to a beneficiary. Accordingly, subsection 505(d) requires the trust to increase receipts payable to a beneficiary as determined under subsection (c) to the extent the trust’s taxes are reduced by distributing those receipts to the beneficiary. Because the trust’s taxes and amounts distributed to a beneficiary are interrelated, the trust may be required to apply a formula to determine the correct amount payable to a beneficiary. This formula should take into account that each time a distribution is made to a beneficiary, the trust taxes are reduced and amounts distributable to a beneficiary are increased. The formula assures that after deducting distributions to a beneficiary, the trust has enough to satisfy its taxes on its share of the entity’s taxable income as reduced by distributions to beneficiaries.

Example (1)

Example (1) — Trust T receives a Schedule K-1 from Partnership P reflecting taxable income of $1 million. Partnership P distributes $100,000 to T, which allocates the receipts to income. Both Trust T and income Beneficiary B are in the 35 percent tax bracket.

Trust T’s tax on $1 million of taxable income is $350,000. Under Subsection (c) T’s tax must be paid from income receipts because receipts from the entity are allocated only to income. Therefore, T must apply the entire $100,000 of income receipts to pay its tax. In this case, Beneficiary B receives nothing.

Example (2)

Example (2) — Trust T receives a Schedule K-1 from Partnership P reflecting taxable income of $1 million. Partnership P distributes $500,000 to T, which allocates the receipts to income. Both Trust T and income Beneficiary B are in the 35 percent tax bracket.

Trust T’s tax on $1 million of taxable income is $350,000. Under Subsection (c), T’s tax must be paid from income receipts because receipts from P are allocated only to income. Therefore, T uses $350,000 of the $500,000 to pay its taxes and distributes the remaining $150,000 to B. The $150,000 payment to B reduces T’s taxes by $52,500, which it must pay to B. But the $52,500 further reduces T’s taxes by $18,375, which it also must pay to B. In fact, each time T makes a distribution to B, its taxes are further reduced, causing another payment to be due B.

Alternatively, T can apply the following algebraic formula to determine the amount payable to B:

D = (C-R*K)/(1-R)

D = Distribution to income beneficiary

C = Cash paid by the entity to the trust

R = tax rate on income

K = entity’s K-1 taxable income

Applying the formula to Example (2) above, Trust T must pay $230,769 to B so that after deducting the payment, T has exactly enough to pay its tax on the remaining taxable income from P.

Taxable Income per K-1     1,000,000

Payment to beneficiary       230,769

1

Trust Taxable Income     $ 769,231

35 percent tax       269,231

Partnership Distribution     $ 500,000

Fiduciary’s Tax Liability       (269,231)

Payable to the Beneficiary     $ 230,769

D = (C-R*K)/(1-R) = (500,000 - 350,000)/(1 - .35) = $230,769. (D is the amount payable to the income beneficiary, K is the entity’s K-1 taxable income, R is the trust ordinary tax rate, and C is the cash distributed by the entity).

1

In addition, B will report $230,769 on his or her own personal income tax return, paying taxes of $80,769. Because Trust T withheld $269,231 to pay its taxes and B paid $80,769 taxes of its own, B bore the entire $350,000 tax burden on the $1 million of entity taxable income, including the $500,000 that the entity retained that presumably increased the value of the trust’s investment entity. If a trustee determines that it is appropriate to so, it should consider exercising the discretion granted in UPIA section 506 to adjust between income and principal. Alternatively, the trustee may exercise the power to adjust under UPIA section 104 to the extent it is available and appropriate under the circumstances, including whether a future distribution from the entity that would be allocated to principal should be reallocated to income because the income beneficiary already bore the burden of taxes on the reinvested income. In exercising the power, the trust should consider the impact that future distributions will have on any current adjustments.

§ 68-10-506. Adjustments between principal and income because of taxes.

  1. A fiduciary may make adjustments between principal and income to offset the shifting of economic interests or tax benefits between income beneficiaries and remainder beneficiaries which arise from:
    1. Elections and decisions, other than those described in subsection (b) of this section, that the fiduciary makes from time to time regarding tax matters;
    2. An income tax or any other tax that is imposed upon the fiduciary or a beneficiary as a result of a transaction involving, or a distribution from, the estate or trust; or
    3. The ownership by an estate or trust of an interest in an entity whose taxable income, whether or not distributed, is includable in the taxable income of the estate, trust or beneficiary.
  2. If the amount of an estate tax marital deduction or charitable contribution deduction is reduced because a fiduciary deducts an amount paid from principal for income tax purposes instead of deducting it for estate tax purposes, and as a result estate taxes paid from principal are increased and income taxes paid by an estate, trust or beneficiary are decreased, each estate, trust or beneficiary that benefits from the decrease in income tax shall reimburse the principal from which the increase in estate tax is paid. The total reimbursement must equal the increase in the estate tax to the extent that the principal used to pay the increase would have qualified for a marital deduction or charitable contribution deduction but for the payment. The proportionate share of the reimbursement for each estate, trust or beneficiary whose income taxes are reduced must be the same as its proportionate share of the total decrease in income tax. An estate or trust shall reimburse principal from income.
History.

I.C.,§ 68-10-506, as added by 2001, ch. 261, § 2, p. 943.

Official Comment

Discretionary adjustments. Section 506(a) permits the fiduciary to make adjustments between income and principal because of tax law provisions. It would permit discretionary adjustments in situations like these: (1) A fiduciary elects to deduct administration expenses that are paid from principal on an income tax return instead of on the estate tax return; (2) a distribution of a principal asset to a trust or other beneficiary causes the taxable income of an estate or trust to be carried out to the distributee and relieves the persons who receive the income of any obligation to pay income tax on the income; or (3) a trustee realizes a capital gain on the sale of a principal asset and pays a large state income tax on the gain, but under applicable federal income tax rules the trustee may not deduct the state income tax payment from the capital gain in calculating the trust’s federal capital gain tax, and the income beneficiary receives the benefit of the deduction for state income tax paid on the capital gain. See generally Joel C. Dobris, Limits on the Doctrine of Equitable Adjustment in Sophisticated Postmortem Tax Planning, 66 Iowa L. Rev. 273 (1981).

Section 506(a)(3) applies to a qualified Subchapter S trust (QSST) whose income beneficiary is required to include a pro rata share of the S corporation’s taxable income in his return. If the QSST does not receive a cash distribution from the corporation that is large enough to cover the income beneficiary’s tax liability, the trustee may distribute additional cash from principal to the income beneficiary. In this case the retention of cash by the corporation benefits the trust principal. This situation could occur if the corporation’s taxable income includes capital gain from the sale of a business asset and the sale proceeds are reinvested in the business instead of being distributed to shareholders. Mandatory adjustment. Subsection (b) provides for a mandatory adjustment from income to principal to the extent needed to preserve an estate tax marital deduction or charitable contributions deduction. It is derived from New York’s EPTL § 11-1.2(A), which requires principal to be reimbursed by those who benefit when a fiduciary elects to deduct administration expenses on an income tax return instead of the estate tax return. Unlike the New York provision, subsection (b) limits a mandatory reimbursement to cases in which a marital deduction or a charitable contributions deduction is reduced by the payment of additional estate taxes because of the fiduciary’s income tax election. It is intended to preserve the result reached in Estate of Britenstool v. Commissioner, 46 T.C. 711 (1966), in which the Tax Court held that a reimbursement required by the predecessor of EPTL § 11-1.2(A) resulted in the estate receiving the same charitable contributions deduction it would have received if the administration expenses had been deducted for estate tax purposes instead of for income tax purposes. Because a fiduciary will elect to deduct administration expenses for income tax purposes only when the income tax reduction exceeds the estate tax reduction, the effect of this adjustment is that the principal is placed in the same position it would have occupied if the fiduciary had deducted the expenses for estate tax purposes, but the income beneficiaries receive an additional benefit. For example, if the income tax benefit from the deduction is $30,000 and the estate tax benefit would have been $20,000, principal will be reimbursed $20,000 and the net benefit to the income beneficiaries will be $10,000.

Irrevocable grantor trusts. Under Sections 671-679 of the Internal Revenue Code (the “grantor trust” provisions), a person who creates an irrevocable trust for the benefit of another person may be subject to tax on the trust’s income or capital gains, or both, even though the settlor is not entitled to receive any income or principal from the trust. Because this is now a well-known tax result, many trusts have been created to produce this result, but there are also trusts that are unintentionally subject to this rule. The Act does not require or authorize a trustee to distribute funds from the trust to the settlor in these cases because it is difficult to establish a rule that applies only to trusts where this tax result is unintended and does not apply to trusts where the tax result is intended. Settlors who intend this tax result rarely state it as an objective in the terms of the trust, but instead rely on the operation of the tax law to produce the desired result. As a result it may not be possible to determine from the terms of the trust if the result was intentional or unintentional. If the drafter of such a trust wants the trustee to have the authority to distribute principal or income to the settlor to reimburse the settlor for taxes paid on the trust’s income or capital gains, such a provision should be placed in the terms of the trust. In some situations the Internal Revenue Service may require that such a provision be placed in the terms of the trust as a condition to issuing a private letter ruling.

Part 6 Miscellaneous Provisions

§ 68-10-601. Uniformity of application and construction.

In applying and construing this chapter, consideration must be given to the need to promote uniformity of the law with respect to its subject matter among states that enact it.

History.

I.C.,§ 68-10-601, as added by 2001, ch. 261, § 2, p. 943.

§ 68-10-602. Severability clause.

If any provision of this chapter or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of this chapter which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this chapter are severable.

History.

I.C.,§ 68-10-602, as added by 2001, ch. 261, § 2, p. 943.

§ 68-10-603, 68-10-604. [Reserved.]

This chapter applies to every trust or decedent’s estate existing on the effective date of this chapter except as otherwise expressly provided in the will or terms of the trust or in this chapter.

History.

I.C.,§ 68-10-605, as added by 2001, ch. 261, § 2, p. 943.

STATUTORY NOTES

Compiler’s Notes.

The phrase “the effective date of this chapter” refers to the effective date of S.L. 2001, chapter 261, which was effective July 1, 2001.

§ 68-10-605. Application of chapter to existing trusts and estates.

Chapter 11 UNIFORM TESTAMENTARY ADDITIONS TO TRUSTS ACT

Sec.

§ 68-1101. Testamentary additions to trust. [Repealed.]

STATUTORY NOTES

Compiler’s Notes.

This section, which comprised S.L. 1963, ch. 182, § 1, was repealed by S.L. 1971, ch. 111, § 8. For present comparable provisions, see§ 15-2-511.

§ 68-1102 — 68-1104. Effect on prior wills. [Obsolete.]

STATUTORY NOTES

Compiler’s Notes.

These sections, which comprised S.L. 1963, ch. 182,§§ 2-4, are deemed obsolete by virtue of the repeal of § 1 (§ 68-1101) of said act, by S.L. 1971, ch. 111, § 8.

Chapter 12 PRIVATE FOUNDATIONS AND CHARITABLE TRUSTS

Sec.

§ 68-1201. Trusts covered by law.

This act shall apply only to trusts which are “private foundations” as defined in section 509 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, “charitable trusts” as described in section 4947(a)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and “split-interest trusts” as described in section 4947(a)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.

History.

1974, ch. 73, § 1, p. 1154; am. 1994, ch. 190, § 1, p. 617.

STATUTORY NOTES

Federal References.

Sections 509 and 4947 of the Internal Revenue Code are compiled as 26 U.S.C.S. §§ 509 and 4947 respectively.

Compiler’s Notes.

The term “this act” at the beginning of this section refers to S.L. 1974, chapter 73, which is compiled as§§ 68-1201 to 68-1203 and 68-1205 to 68-1207. The reference probably should be to “this chapter,” being chapter 12, title 68, Idaho Code.

§ 68-1202. Provisions prohibited in trust instruments.

The trust instrument of each trust to which this act applies shall be deemed to contain provisions prohibiting the trustee from:

  1. Engaging in any act of “self-dealing” (as defined in section 4941(d) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986), which would give rise to any liability for the tax imposed by section 4941(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986;
  2. Retaining any “excess business holdings” (as defined in section 4943(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986), which would give rise to any liability for the tax imposed by section 4943(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986;
  3. Making any investments which would jeopardize the carrying out of any of the exempt purposes of the trust, within the meaning of section 4944 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, so as to give rise to any liability for the tax imposed by section 4944(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; and
  4. Making any “taxable expenditures” (as defined in section 4945(d) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986), which would give rise to any liability for the tax imposed by section 4945(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986;

Provided, that this section shall not apply either to those split-interest trusts or to amounts thereof which are not subject to the prohibitions applicable to private foundations by reason of the provisions of section 4947 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.

History.

1974, ch. 73, § 2, p. 1154; am. 1994, ch. 190, § 2, p. 617.

STATUTORY NOTES

Federal References.

Sections 4941, 4943, 4944, 4945 and 4947 of the Internal Revenue Code, referred to in this section, are compiled as 26 U.S.C.S. §§ 4941, 4943, 4944, 4945 and 4947.

Compiler’s Notes.

The term “this act” in the introductory paragraph refers to S.L. 1974, chapter 73, which is compiled as§§ 68-1201 to 68-1203 and 68-1205 to 68-1207. The reference probably should be to “this chapter,” being chapter 12, title 68, Idaho Code.

RESEARCH REFERENCES

Am. Jur. 2d.
C.J.S.

§ 68-1203. Required distributions.

The trust instrument of each trust to which this act applies, except “split-interest” trusts, shall be deemed to contain a provision requiring the trustee to distribute, for the purposes specified in the trust instrument, for each taxable year of the trust, amounts at least sufficient to avoid liability for the tax imposed by section 4942(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.

History.

1974, ch. 73, § 3, p. 1154; am. 1994, ch. 190, § 3, p. 617.

STATUTORY NOTES

Federal References.

Section 4942 of the Internal Revenue Code, referred to in this section, is compiled as 26 U.S.C.S. § 4942.

Compiler’s Notes.

The term “this act”near the beginning of the section refers to S.L. 1974, chapter 73, which is compiled as§§ 68-1201 to 68-1203 and 68-1205 to 68-1207. The reference probably should be to “this chapter,” being chapter 12, title 68, Idaho Code.

§ 68-1204. Trustee may amend governing instrument under certain circumstances.

The trustee of a trust may, with the prior consent of the attorney general, amend the terms of the governing instrument to the extent necessary:

  1. To assure conformity of the governing instrument with the requirements for exemption from the taxes imposed in sections 4941 to 4945 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, including amendments which broaden, extend, reduce or limit the charitable purposes for which the trust is administered;
  2. To terminate the status of the trust as a private foundation in a manner described in section 507(b)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; or
  3. To terminate the trust and transfer its assets to one (1) or more entities described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 because continuation is impractical due to its small size or impractical because of changed circumstances adversely impacting its purpose or purposes.

Prior to giving consent, the attorney general shall determine that the proposed amendments are necessary or appropriate to achieve the charitable purposes of the trust. If the trust is for the exclusive benefit of one (1) or more charitable organizations, or in the event there are one (1) or more residual beneficiaries, the trustee shall also obtain the prior consent of such organizations or individuals prior to amending the terms of the governing instrument in the manner set forth in this section. Further, notwithstanding the provisions of section 68-1201, Idaho Code, this section shall additionally apply to all trusts described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.

History.

I.C.,§ 68-1204, as added by 1994, ch. 190, § 5, p. 617.

STATUTORY NOTES

Cross References.

Attorney general,§ 67-1401 et seq.

Prior Laws.

Former§ 68-1204, which comprised 1974, ch. 73, § 4, p. 1154, was repealed by S.L. 1994, ch. 190, § 4, effective July 1, 1994.

Federal References.

Sections 501(c)(3), 507(b)(1), and 4941 to 4945 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, referred to throughout this section, are compiled as 26 U.S.C.S. §§ 501(c)(3), 507(b)(1), and 4941 to 4945, respectively.

§ 68-1205. Courts and attorney general not impaired.

Nothing in this act shall impair the rights and powers of the courts or the attorney general of this state with respect to any trust.

History.

1974, ch. 73, § 5, p. 1154.

STATUTORY NOTES

Cross References.

Attorney general,§ 67-1401 et seq.

Compiler’s Notes.

The term “this act” near the beginning of this section refers to S.L. 1974, chapter 73, which is compiled as§§ 68-1201 to 68-1203 and 68-1205 to 68-1207. The reference probably should be to “this chapter,” being chapter 12, title 68, Idaho Code.

§ 68-1206. References to Internal Revenue Code of 1986.

All references to sections of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 shall refer to that term as it is now and hereafter defined in section 63-3004, Idaho Code.

History.

1974, ch. 73, § 6, p. 1154; am. 1994, ch. 190, § 6, p. 617.

STATUTORY NOTES

Federal References.

The Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is codified as 26 U.S.C.S. § 1 et seq.

§ 68-1207. Trust instruments or private foundation articles may provide that this law will not apply.

Nothing in this act shall limit the power of a person who creates a trust or the power of a person who has retained or has been granted the right to amend a trust to include a specific provision in the trust instrument or an amendment thereto which provides that some or all of the provisions of this act shall have no application to such trust.

History.

1974, ch. 73, § 7, p. 1154; am. 1994, ch. 190, § 7, p. 617.

STATUTORY NOTES

Compiler’s Notes.

The term “this act” near the beginning and near the end of this section refers to S.L. 1974, chapter 73, which is compiled as§§ 68-1201 to 68-1203 and 68-1205 to 68-1207. The reference probably should be to “this chapter,” being chapter 12, title 68, Idaho Code.

Section 8 of S.L. 1974, ch. 73, read: “The provisions of this act are hereby declared to be severable and if any provision of this act or the application of such provision to any person or circumstance is declared invalid for any reason, such declaration shall not affect the validity of remaining portions of this act.”

Effective Dates.

Section 9 of S.L. 1974, ch. 73 declared an emergency, and also provided that the act would be in full force and effect on and after its passage and approval, and retroactive to January 1, 1974. Approved March 21, 1974.

Chapter 13 IDAHO UNIFORM CUSTODIAL TRUST ACT

Sec.

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COMMENT TO OFFICIAL TEXT

PREFATORY NOTE

This Uniform Act provides for the creation of a statutory custodial trust for adults to be governed by the provisions of the Act whenever property is delivered to another “as custodial trustee under the (Enacting state) Uniform Custodial Trust Act.” The provisions of this Act are based on trust analogies to concepts developed and used in establishing custodianships for minors under the Uniform Transfers to Minors Act (UTMA). The Custodial Trust Act is designed to provide a statutory standby inter vivos trust for individuals who typically are not very affluent or sophisticated, and possibly represented by attorneys engaged in general rather than specialized estate practice. The most frequent use of this trust would be in response to the commonly occurring need of elderly individuals to provide for the future management of assets in the event of incapacity. The statute will also be available for accomplishing distribution of funds by judgment debtors and others to incapacitated persons for whom a conservator has not been appointed. Since this Act allows any person, competent to transfer property, to create custodial trusts for the benefit of themselves or others, with the beneficial interest in custodial trust property in the beneficiary and not in the custodial trustee, its potential for use is extensive. Although the most frequent use probably will be by elderly persons, it is also available for a parent to establish a custodial trust for an adult child who may be incapacitated; for adult persons in the military, or those leaving the country temporarily, to place their property with another for management without relinquishing beneficial ownership of their property; or for young people who have received property under the Uniform Transfers to Minors Act to continue a custodial trust as adults in order to obtain the benefit and convenience of management services performed by the custodial trustee. This Act follows the approach taken by the Uniform Transfers to Minors Act and allows any kind of property, real or personal, tangible or intangible, to be made the subject of a transfer to a custodial trustee for the benefit of a beneficiary. However, the most typical transaction envisioned would involve a person who would transfer intangible property, such as securities or bank accounts, to a custodial trustee but with retention by the transferor of direction over the property. Later, this direction could be relinquished, or it could be lost upon incapacity. The objective of the statute is to provide a simple trust that is uncomplicated in its creation, administration, and termination. The potential for tax problems is minimized by permitting the beneficiary in most instances to retain control while the beneficiary has capacity to manage the assets effectively. The statute contains an asset specific transfer provision that it is believed will be simple to use and will gain the acceptance of the securities and financial industry. A simple transfer document, examples of which are set forth in the Act, and a receipt from the custodian, also in the Act, would provide for identification of beneficiaries or distributees upon death of the beneficiary. Protection is extended to third parties dealing with the custodian. Although the Act is patterned on the Uniform Transfers to Minors Act and meshes into the Uniform Probate Code, it is appropriate for enactment as well in states which have not adopted either UTMA or the UPC.

An adult beneficiary, who is not incapacitated, may: (1) terminate the custodial trust on demand (Section 2(e)); (2) receive so much of the income or custodial property as he or she may request from time to time (Section 9(a)); and (3) give the custodial trustee binding instructions for investment or management (Section 7(b)). In the absence of direction by the beneficiary, who is not incapacitated, the custodial trustee manages the property subject to the standard of care that would be observed by a prudent person dealing with the property of another and is not limited by other statutory restrictions on investments by fiduciaries (Section 7).

A principal feature of the Custodial Trust under this Act is designed to protect the beneficiary and his or her dependents against the perils of the beneficiary’s possible future incapacity without the necessity of a conservatorship. Under Section 10, the incapacity of the beneficiary does not terminate (1) the custodial trust, (2) the designation of a successor custodial trustee, (3) any power or authority of the custodial trustee, or (4) the immunities of third persons relying on actions of the custodial trustee. The custodial trustee continues to manage the property as a discretionary trust under the prudent person standard for the benefit of the incapacitated beneficiary.

Means of monitoring and enforcing the custodial trust include provisions requiring the custodial trustee to keep the beneficiary informed, requiring accounting by the custodial trustee (Section 15), providing for removal of the custodial trustee (Section 13), and the distribution of the assets on termination of the custodial trust (Section 17). The custodial trustee is protected in Section 16 by the statutes of limitation on proceedings against the custodial trustee. Transactions with the custodial trustee should be executed readily and quickly by third parties because their rights and protections are determined by the Act and a third party acting in good faith has no need to determine the custodial trustee’s authority to bind the beneficiary with respect to property and investment matters (Section 11). The Act generally limits the claims of third parties to recourse against the custodial property, with the beneficiary insulated against personal liability unless he or she is personally at fault and the custodial trustee is similarly insulated unless the custodial trustee is personally at fault or failed to disclose the custodial capacity when entering into a contract (Section 12).

As a consequence of the mobility of our population, particularly the mature persons who are most likely to utilize this Act, uniformity of the laws governing custodial trusts is highly desirable, and the Act is designed to avoid conflict of laws problems. A custodial trust created under this Act remains subject to this Act despite a subsequent change in the residence of the transferor, the beneficiary, or the custodial trustee or the removal of the custodial trust property from the state of original location (Section 19).

__________

§ 68-1301. Definitions.

As used in this chapter:

  1. “Adult” means an individual who is at least eighteen (18) years of age.
  2. “Beneficiary” means an individual for whom property has been transferred to or held under a declaration of trust by a custodial trustee for the individual’s use and benefit under this chapter.
  3. “Conservator” means a person appointed or qualified by a court to manage the estate of an individual or a person legally authorized to perform substantially the same functions.
  4. “Court” means the district court of this state.
  5. “Custodial trust property” means an interest in property transferred to or held under a declaration of trust by a custodial trustee under this chapter and the income from and proceeds of that interest.
  6. “Custodial trustee” means a person designated as trustee of a custodial trust under this chapter or a substitute or successor to the person designated.
  7. “Guardian” means a person appointed or qualified by a court as a guardian of an individual, including a limited guardian, but not a person who is only a guardian ad litem.
  8. “Incapacitated” means lacking the ability to manage property and business affairs effectively by reason of mental illness, mental disability, physical illness or disability, chronic use of drugs, chronic intoxication, confinement, detention by a foreign power, disappearance, minority, or other disabling cause.
  9. “Legal representative” means a personal representative or conservator.
  10. “Member of the beneficiary’s family” means a beneficiary’s spouse, descendant, stepchild, parent, stepparent, grandparent, brother, sister, uncle, or aunt, whether of the whole or half blood or by adoption.
  11. “Person” means an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, joint venture, association, or any other legal or commercial entity.
  12. “Personal representative” means an executor, administrator, or special administrator of a decedent’s estate, a person legally authorized to perform substantially the same functions, or a successor to any of them.
  13. “State” means a state, territory, or possession of the United States, the District of Columbia, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
  14. “Transferor” means a person who creates a custodial trust by transfer or declaration.
  15. “Trust company” means a financial institution, corporation, or other legal entity, authorized to exercise general trust powers.
History.

I.C.,§ 68-1301, as added by 1989, ch. 230, § 1, p. 547; am. 2010, ch. 235, § 67, p. 542.

STATUTORY NOTES

Amendments.

The 2010 amendment, by ch. 235, substituted “mental disability” for “mental deficiency” in subsection (8).

COMMENT TO OFFICIAL TEXT

  1. “Adult” is a person 18 years of age for the purpose of custodial trusts. The result of this is that a person 18 years of age will be eligible to be a custodial trustee under this Act, although he or she may not be eligible under UTMA since minor custodianships under UTMA may run to age 21 and the minor could in some cases be older than the custodian. As the Comments under Section 1 of UTMA explain, the age of 21 was retained under that Act because the Internal Revenue Code continues to permit a “minority trust” under Section 2053(c), to continue in effect until age 21 and because it was believed that most transferors creating trusts or custodianships for minors would prefer to retain the property under management for the benefit of the young person as long as possible. The difference has little or no practical consequence and serves the purpose of each Act.

(3) “Conservator” is defined broadly to permit identification of a person functioning as a conservator.

(4) “Court” means _____ court. Here the likelihood is that most states would utilize the same court, e.g., the probate court, that deals with conservators and estates.

(5 and 6) The terms, “custodial trust property” and “custodial trustee,” are used throughout to identify clearly the statutory trust property and trustee under this Act. The statutory trust concept is used throughout the Act.

(7) A definition of guardian has been included and is based on the Uniform Probate Code Section 5-103(6).

(8) A definition of incapacitated has been included, for the purpose of this Act, because incapacity of the beneficiary converts the trust from a revocable trust to a discretionary trust. The definition is taken from the Uniform Probate Code Section 5-401(c) relating to the person who is unable to manage property. Compare Uniform Probate Code Section 5-103(7). Note that Section 10(a)(ii) permits a transferor to direct that the trust shall be administered as one for an incapacitated person. Section 10 deals specifically with the determination of incapacity.

(10) The beneficiary’s family is broadly defined to identify persons who may have standing to seek judicial intervention or accounting (Sections 13 and 15).

(11) The definition of a person is taken from the Uniform Probate Code Section 1-201(29).

(12) Personal representative is broadly defined and the definition reflects that in the Uniform Probate Code Section 1-201(30).

§ 68-1302. Custodial trust — General.

  1. A person may create a custodial trust of property by a written transfer of the property to another person, evidenced by registration or by other instrument of transfer, executed in any lawful manner, naming as beneficiary, an individual who may be the transferor, in which the transferee is designated, in substance, as custodial trustee under the Idaho uniform custodial trust act.
  2. A person may create a custodial trust of property by a written declaration, evidenced by registration of the property or by other instrument of declaration executed in any lawful manner, describing the property and naming as beneficiary an individual other than the declarant, in which the declarant as titleholder is designated, in substance, as custodial trustee under the Idaho uniform custodial trust act. A registration or other declaration of trust for the sole benefit of the declarant is not a custodial trust under this chapter.
  3. Title to custodial trust property is in the custodial trustee and the beneficial interest is in the beneficiary.
  4. Except as provided in subsection (5) of this section, a transferor may not terminate a custodial trust.
  5. The beneficiary, if not incapacitated, or the conservator of an incapacitated beneficiary may terminate a custodial trust by delivering to the custodial trustee a writing signed by the beneficiary or conservator declaring the termination. If not previously terminated, the custodial trust terminates on the death of the beneficiary.
  6. Any person may augment existing custodial trust property by the addition of other property pursuant to this chapter.
  7. The transferor may designate, or authorize the designation of, a successor custodial trustee in the trust instrument.
  8. This chapter does not displace or restrict other means of creating trusts. A trust whose terms do not conform to this chapter may be enforceable according to its terms under other law.
History.

I.C.,§ 68-1302, as added by 1989, ch. 230, § 1, p. 547.

COMMENT TO OFFICIAL TEXT

Section 2 is the principal provision authorizing the creation of a custodial trust and utilizes the concept of incorporation by reference when the transferee or titleholder of property is designated as custodial trustee under the Act. Section 2 sets forth the general effect of such a transfer. Section 18 provides forms which satisfy the requirements of this section and identifies customary methods of transferring assets to create a custodial trust.

Section 2(a) provides that a trust may be created by transfer to another for the benefit of the transferor or another. This is expected to be the most common way in which a custodial trust would be created. However, a custodial trust may also be created by declaration of trust by the owner of property to hold it for the benefit of another as is provided in Section 2(b). A declaration in trust by the owner of property for the sole benefit of the owner is not contemplated by this Act because such an attempt may be considered ineffective as a trust due to the total identity of the trustee and beneficiary. However, the doctrine of merger would not preclude an effective transfer under this Act for the benefit of the transferor and one or more other beneficiaries. See Section 6. A custodial trust could be created by the exercise of a valid power of attorney or power of appointment given by the owner of property as one of the transfers “consistent with law.”

These alternatives permit the major uses of the custodial trust to be accomplished expeditiously. For example, an older person, wishing to be relieved of management of property may transfer property to another for benefit of the transferor or of the transferor’s spouse or child. The declaration may be used to establish a trust of which the owner is trustee to continue management of the property for benefit of another, such as a spouse or child. The trust may include a provision for distribution of assets remaining at the beneficiary’s death directly to a named distributee.

This Act does not preclude the creation of trusts under other existing law, statutory or nonstatutory, but is designed to facilitate the creation of simple trusts incorporating the provisions of this Act. The written transfer or declaration “consistent with law” requires that the formalities of the transfer of particular property necessary under other law will be observed, e.g., if land is involved, the requirements of a proper deed and recording must be satisfied.

Section 2(c) provides for the retention of the beneficial interest in the custodial trust property in the beneficiary and, of course, not in the custodial trustee. The extensive control and benefit in the beneficiary who is not incapacitated maintains the simplicity of the trust and avoids tax complexity. The custodial trustee is given the title to the property and authority to act with regard to the property only as is authorized by the statute. The custodial trustee’s powers are enumerated in Section 8.

Section 2(e) gives the adult beneficiary, who is not incapacitated, the power to terminate the custodial trust at any time during his or her lifetime. This power of termination exists in any beneficiary who is not incapacitated whether the beneficiary was or was not the transferor. A beneficiary may be determined to be incapacitated or the transferor may designate that the trust is to be administered as a trust for an incapacitated beneficiary under Section 10, in which event the beneficiary does not have the power to terminate. However, the designation of incapacity by the transferor can be modified by the trustee or the court by reason of changed circumstances pursuant to Section 10. The Act precludes termination by exercise of a durable power of attorney if the beneficiary is incompetent (Section 7(f)). If the donor prefers not to permit the beneficiary the power to terminate or to designate the beneficiary as incapacitated under Section 10, an individually drafted trust outside the scope of this Act would seem appropriate.

Upon termination of a custodial trust, the custodial trust property must be distributed as provided in Section 17.

A transfer under this Act is irrevocable except to the extent the beneficiary may terminate it. Hence, a transfer to a trustee for benefit of a person other than the transferor is not revocable by the transferor. If a power of revocation were retained by the transferor, that would be a trust outside the scope of this Act and enforceable under general law pursuant to subsection 2(h).

This Act does not provide for protection of the custodial trust assets from the claims of creditors of the beneficiary, whether those are general or governmental creditors. Other laws of the state remain unaffected. In this regard, unusual problems of handicapped persons and the coordination of resources and state or federal services call for special provision and planning outside the scope of this Act.

§ 68-1303. Custodial trustee for future payment or transfer.

  1. A person having the right to designate the recipient of property payable or transferable upon a future event may create a custodial trust upon the occurrence of the future event by designating in writing the recipient, followed in substance by: “as custodial trustee for (name of beneficiary) under the Idaho uniform custodial trust act.”
  2. Persons may be designated as substitute or successor custodial trustees to whom the property must be paid or transferred in the order named if the first designated custodial trustee is unable or unwilling to serve.
  3. A designation under this section may be made in a will, a trust, a deed, a multiple-party account, an insurance policy, an instrument exercising a power of appointment, or a writing designating a beneficiary of contractual rights. Otherwise, to be effective, the designation must be registered with or delivered to the fiduciary, payor, issuer, or obligor of the future right.
History.

I.C.,§ 68-1303, as added by 1989, ch. 230, § 1, p. 547.

COMMENT TO OFFICIAL TEXT

This section permits a future custodial trustee to be designated to receive property for the beneficiary of a custodial trust to be effective upon the occurrence of a future event or transfer. To accommodate changes in circumstances during the passage of time, one or more successors or substitute custodial trustees can also be designated. The designation of the future custodial trustee and the beneficiary can be made in an instrument which is revocable or irrevocable depending upon the nature of the transaction or transfer. Any person designated as a future custodial trustee may decline to serve before the transfer occurs or may resign under Section 13 after the transfer.

The source of this section is Section 3 of UTMA.

The enacting state’s rule against perpetuities may limit or affect the creation of a custodial trust upon the occurrence of a future event, but because the use of a custodial trust usually contemplates dispositions for the benefit of living persons, perpetuity problems should rarely arise.

§ 68-1304. Form and effect of receipt and acceptance by custodial trustee — Jurisdiction.

  1. Obligations of a custodial trustee, including the obligation to follow directions of the beneficiary, arise under this chapter upon the custodial trustee’s acceptance, express or implied, of the custodial trust property.
  2. The custodial trustee’s acceptance may be evidenced by a writing stating in substance:

CUSTODIAL TRUSTEE’S RECEIPT AND ACCEPTANCE

I, ..... (name of custodial trustee) ..... acknowledge receipt of the custodial trust property described below or in the attached instrument and accept the custodial trust as custodial trustee for ..... (name of beneficiary) ..... under the Idaho Uniform Custodial Trust Act. I undertake to administer and distribute the custodial trust property pursuant to the Idaho Uniform Custodial Trust Act. My obligations as custodial trustee are subject to the directions of the beneficiary unless the beneficiary is designated as, is, or becomes incapacitated. The custodial trust property consists of ...............................

Dated: ...............................

...............................

(Signature of Custodial Trustee)

(3) Upon accepting custodial trust property, a person designated as custodial trustee under this chapter is subject to personal jurisdiction of the court with respect to any matter relating to the custodial trust.

History.

I.C.,§ 68-1304, as added by 1989, ch. 230, § 1, p. 547.

COMMENT TO OFFICIAL TEXT

Although a custodial trust is created by a transfer that satisfies Section 2 of the Act, the responsibility and obligations upon the trustee do not arise until the trustee has accepted the transfer. This detailed section is included to call the attention of the parties to the effective receipt and acceptance by the custodial trustee. Once a custodial trustee accepts the transfer of the custodial trust property, the custodial trustee assumes the obligation of a custodial trustee under this Act. The acceptance can be expressed or implied, but it is recommended that the written acceptance provided for in Section 4(b) be utilized. By the acceptance the custodial trustee submits to the personal jurisdiction of the courts of the enacting state for the purpose of the custodial trust, despite subsequent relocation of the parties or of the custodial trust property. The principal sources of these provisions are Sections 8 and 9 of UTMA and the analogous provisions under the Uniform Probate Code, Sections 3-602, 5-208, 5-307, 7-103.

§ 68-1305. Transfer to custodial trustee by fiduciary or obligor — Facility of payment.

  1. Unless otherwise directed by an instrument designating a custodial trustee pursuant to section 68-1303, Idaho Code, a person including a fiduciary other than a custodial trustee, who holds property of or owes a debt to an incapacitated individual not having a conservator may make a transfer to an adult member of the beneficiary’s family or to a trust company as custodial trustee for the use and benefit of the incapacitated individual. If the value of the property or the debt exceeds twenty thousand dollars ($20,000), the transfer is not effective unless authorized by the court.
  2. A written acknowledgment of delivery, signed by a custodial trustee, is a sufficient receipt and discharge for property transferred to the custodial trustee pursuant to this section.
History.

I.C.,§ 68-1305, as added by 1989, ch. 230, § 1, p. 547.

COMMENT TO OFFICIAL TEXT

This section is in the nature of a facility-of-payment provision that permits persons owing money to an incapacitated individual to discharge a fixed obligation by a payment to a custodial trustee under this Act. The section does not authorize the custodial trustee to settle claims for disputed amounts but only to acknowledge an effective receipt of property paid or delivered. It is based primarily on Sections 6 and 7 of UTMA and includes the protections of Section 8 of UTMA as well. It permits a custodial trust to be established as a substitute for a conservatorship to receive payments due an incapacitated individual. Also, see Section 11, which protects transferors and other third parties dealing with the custodial trustee.

§ 68-1306. Multiple beneficiaries — Separate custodial trusts — Survivorship.

  1. Beneficial interests in a custodial trust created for multiple beneficiaries are deemed to be separate custodial trusts of equal undivided interests for each beneficiary. Except in a transfer or declaration for use and benefit of husband and wife, for whom survivorship is presumed, a right of survivorship does not exist unless the instrument creating the custodial trust specifically provides for survivorship or survivorship is required as to community or marital property.
  2. Custodial trust property held under this chapter by the same custodial trustee for the use and benefit of the same beneficiary may be administered as a single custodial trust.
  3. A custodial trustee of custodial trust property held for more than one (1) beneficiary shall separately account to each beneficiary pursuant to sections 68-1307 and 68-1315, Idaho Code, for the administration of the custodial trust.
History.

I.C.,§ 68-1306, as added by 1989, ch. 230, § 1, p. 547.

COMMENT TO OFFICIAL TEXT

This Act, unlike UTMA, does not preclude a custodial trust for more than one beneficiary. Adult persons creating custodial trusts are likely to set up custodial trusts in various forms, e.g., parents may wish to set up a custodial trust for their children or for themselves, then for a spouse, etc. However, the interests of each beneficiary are separate and the custodial trustee is obligated under subsection (c) to account separately to each beneficiary for administration of the beneficiary’s interest in the custodial trust.

Subsection (b) allows a custodial trustee who is administering multiple custodial trusts for the same beneficiary to administer the custodial trusts as a single custodial trust. For example, if multiple trusts are created for an incapacitated beneficiary, the custodial trustee can administer them as a single custodial trust.

§ 68-1307. General duties of custodial trustee.

  1. If appropriate, a custodial trustee shall register or record the instrument vesting title to custodial trust property.
  2. If the beneficiary is not incapacitated, a custodial trustee shall follow the directions of the beneficiary in the management, control, investment, or retention of the custodial trust property. In the absence of effective contrary direction by the beneficiary while not incapacitated, the custodial trustee shall observe the standard of care that would be observed by a prudent person dealing with property of another and is not limited by any other law restricting investments by fiduciaries. However, a custodial trustee, in the custodial trustee’s discretion, may retain any custodial trust property received from the transferor. If a custodial trustee has a special skill or expertise or is named custodial trustee on the basis of representation of a special skill or expertise, the custodial trustee shall use that skill or expertise.
  3. Subject to subsection (2) of this section, a custodial trustee shall take control of and collect, hold, manage, invest, and reinvest custodial trust property.
  4. A custodial trustee at all times shall keep custodial trust property of which the custodial trustee has control, separate from all other property in a manner sufficient to identify it clearly as custodial trust property of the beneficiary. Custodial trust property, the title to which is subject to recordation, is so identified if an appropriate instrument so identifying the property is recorded, and custodial trust property subject to registration is so identified if it is registered, or held in an account in the name of the custodial trustee, designated in substance: “as custodial trustee for (name of beneficiary) under the Idaho uniform custodial trust act.”
  5. A custodial trustee shall keep records of all transactions with respect to custodial trust property, including information necessary for the preparation of tax returns, and shall make the records and information available at reasonable times to the beneficiary or legal representative of the beneficiary.
  6. The exercise of a durable power of attorney for an incapacitated beneficiary is not effective to terminate or direct the administration or distribution of a custodial trust.
History.

I.C.,§ 68-1307, as added by 1989, ch. 230, § 1, p. 547.

COMMENT TO OFFICIAL TEXT

Subsection (b) restates and confirms the control by the beneficiary who is not incapacitated. However, the trustee has a reasonable obligation to act when the beneficiary has not directed him. Under Sections 9 and 10, when a beneficiary becomes incapacitated, the custodial trust becomes a discretionary trust and the trustee is subject to the control of the statute and not the beneficiary’s direction. The custodial trustee is subject to the usual trustee’s standard as taken from Section 7-302 of the Uniform Probate Code. The statute also imposes a slightly higher standard on professional fiduciaries acting under the statute. Otherwise, much of this section is taken from Section 12 of UTMA. Whenever recordable assets, such as land, are in the custodial trust, the trustee would be expected to record title to the asset. The section is entitled “general duties” because there are additional specific duties identified in other sections such as Section 9.

§ 68-1308. General powers of custodial trustee.

  1. A custodial trustee, acting in a fiduciary capacity, has all the rights and powers over custodial trust property which an unmarried adult owner has over individually owned property, but a custodial trustee may exercise those rights and powers in a fiduciary capacity only.
  2. The provisions of this section do not relieve a custodial trustee from liability for a violation of section 68-1307, Idaho Code.
History.

I.C.,§ 68-1308, as added by 1989, ch. 230, § 1, p. 547.

COMMENT TO OFFICIAL TEXT

This section is taken from Section 13 of UTMA. It grants the trustee very broad powers over the property, subject, however, to the Prudent Person Rule and to the obligations set out in the Act. An alternative approach to subsection (a) that might be taken by an enacting state is to refer to the existing statutes granting powers to a trustee, such as the Uniform Trustee’s Powers Act. For example: [(a) A custodial trustee has the powers of a trustee under the Uniform Trustee’s Powers Act.]

§ 68-1309. Use of custodial trust property.

  1. A custodial trustee shall pay to the beneficiary or expend for the beneficiary’s use and benefit so much or all of the custodial trust property as the beneficiary while not incapacitated may direct from time to time.
  2. If the beneficiary is incapacitated, the custodial trustee shall expend so much or all of the custodial trust property as the custodial trustee considers advisable for the use and benefit of the beneficiary and individuals who were supported by the beneficiary when the beneficiary became incapacitated, or who are legally entitled to support by the beneficiary. Expenditures may be made in the manner, when, and to the extent that the custodial trustee determines suitable and proper, without court order and without regard to other support, income, or property of the beneficiary.
  3. A custodial trustee may establish checking, savings, or other similar accounts of reasonable amounts under which either the custodial trustee or the beneficiary may withdraw funds from, or draw checks against, the accounts. Funds withdrawn from, or checks written against, the account by the beneficiary are distributions of custodial trust property by the custodial trustee to the beneficiary.
History.

I.C.,§ 68-1309, as added by 1989, ch. 230, § 1, p. 547.

COMMENT TO OFFICIAL TEXT

This section provides that the custodial trustee is obligated to follow the directions of the beneficiary who is not incapacitated in paying over or expending custodial trust property. If the beneficiary is incapacitated, this section imposes duties on the custodial trustee to apply funds for the beneficiary similar to those imposed on custodians for minors under Section 14 of UTMA. In addition, however, subsection (b) authorizes a custodial trustee to pay over or expend custodial trust property for the use and benefit of the incapacitated beneficiary’s dependents who were supported by the beneficiary at the time the beneficiary became incapacitated or for whom there is a legal obligation to support.

The use-and-benefits standard for the expenditure of custodial property is intended to avoid any implication that the custodial trust property can be used only for the required support of the incapacitated beneficiary.

Subsection (c) allows a custodial trustee to maintain a bank account, of an amount reasonable under the circumstances, with the beneficiary whereby both the beneficiary and the custodial trustee may write checks on the account. This may be used as one method of making money available for the beneficiary’s personal needs. Many incapacitated persons, unable to manage business affairs, are still competent to pay personal expenses. This type of arrangement would be important to them. A custodial trustee should maintain, of course, a separate bank account for use in managing the custodial trust property and investments.

An alternative approach might be taken to this section that refers to the distributive powers of a conservator under the laws of the enacting state, in the event that state should prefer that incorporation by reference. For example: [The custodial trustee has the distributive powers of a conservator under the Uniform Probate Code.]

§ 68-1310. Determination of incapacity — Effect.

  1. The custodial trustee shall administer the custodial trust as for an incapacitated beneficiary if (i) the custodial trust was created under section 68-1305, Idaho Code, (ii) the transferor has so directed in the instrument creating the custodial trust, or (iii) the custodial trustee has determined that the beneficiary is incapacitated.
  2. A custodial trustee may determine that the beneficiary is incapacitated in reliance upon (i) previous direction or authority given by the beneficiary while not incapacitated, including direction or authority pursuant to a durable power of attorney, (ii) the certificate of the beneficiary’s physician, or (iii) other persuasive evidence.
  3. If a custodial trustee for an incapacitated beneficiary reasonably concludes that the beneficiary’s incapacity has ceased, or that circumstances concerning the beneficiary’s ability to manage property and business affairs have changed since the creation of a custodial trust directing administration as for an incapacitated beneficiary, the custodial trustee may administer the trust as for a beneficiary who is not incapacitated.
  4. On petition of the beneficiary, the custodial trustee, or other person interested in the custodial trust property or the welfare of the beneficiary, the court shall determine whether the beneficiary is incapacitated.
  5. Absent determination of incapacity of the beneficiary under subsection (2) or (4) of this section, a custodial trustee who has reason to believe that the beneficiary is incapacitated shall administer the custodial trust in accordance with the provisions of this chapter applicable to an incapacitated beneficiary.
  6. Incapacity of a beneficiary does not terminate (i) the custodial trust, (ii) any designation of a successor custodial trustee, (iii) rights or powers of the custodial trustee, or (iv) any immunities of third persons acting on instructions of the custodial trustee.
History.

I.C.,§ 68-1310, as added by 1989, ch. 230, § 1, p. 547.

COMMENT TO OFFICIAL TEXT

This is one of the more important sections of the Act under which the custodial trustee may determine that the beneficiary is incapacitated so the trust will change from one subject to the control of the beneficiary to a discretionary trust for the beneficiary. Subsection (b) allows the custodial trustee to determine that the beneficiary is incapacitated provided the determination is based upon the certificate of the beneficiary’s physician, the prior direction or authority of the beneficiary, or other reasonable evidence. That authority could be evidenced, for example, by a durable power of attorney executed by the beneficiary prior to becoming incapacitated even though that power of attorney is not otherwise effective to control management or termination of the custodial trust. Such a durable power of attorney could be given to a child, spouse, friend, or other trusted individual. In addition, specific authority is provided in subsection (d) for the beneficiary, the custodial trustee, or other interested person to seek a declaration from the court as to the capacity of the beneficiary for the purposes of this Act. This is important to the custodial trustee, as his duties and responsibilities change on the event of the beneficiary’s incapacity. This section is not a proceeding for the appointment of a conservator, and it is not contemplated that such a declaration would lead to court appointment of a conservator or guardian unless other factors would warrant such appointment. The existence of a comprehensive and well-managed custodial trust would be one factor that would tend to avoid the necessity for the appointment of a conservator or guardian of the estate.

This section also does not provide a proceeding to attack the legal competence of a transferor in setting up a trust under Section 2. Rather, Section 10 relates to a management matter in a validly established custodial trust.

Subsection (f) provides that the incapacity of the beneficiary does not terminate the custodial trust. If the beneficiary becomes incapacitated, the authority of the custodial trustee continues and the custodial trustee must follow the statutory provisions of the Act relating to managing custodial trusts for incapacitated individuals.

§ 68-1311. Exemption of third person from liability.

A third person in good faith and without a court order may act on instructions of, or otherwise deal with, a person purporting to make a transfer as, or purporting to act in the capacity of, a custodial trustee. In the absence of knowledge to the contrary, the third person is not responsible for determining:

  1. The validity of the purported custodial trustee’s designation;
  2. The propriety of, or the authority under this chapter for, any action of the purported custodial trustee;
  3. The validity or propriety of an instrument executed or instruction given pursuant to this chapter either by the person purporting to make a transfer or declaration or by the purported custodial trustee; or
  4. The propriety of the application of property vested in the purported custodial trustee.
History.

I.C.,§ 68-1311, as added by 1989, ch. 230, § 1, p. 547.

COMMENT TO OFFICIAL TEXT

This section is based upon Section 16 of the UTMA and protects third persons who deal in good faith with the custodial trustee.

§ 68-1312. Liability to third person.

  1. A claim based on a contract entered into by a custodial trustee acting in a fiduciary capacity, an obligation arising from the ownership or control of custodial trust property, or a tort committed in the course of administering the custodial trust, may be asserted by a third person against the custodial trust property by proceeding against the custodial trustee in a fiduciary capacity, whether or not the custodial trustee or the beneficiary is personally liable.
  2. A custodial trustee is not personally liable to a third person:
    1. On a contract properly entered into in a fiduciary capacity unless the custodial trustee fails to reveal that capacity or to identify the custodial trust in the contract; or
    2. For an obligation arising from control of custodial trust property or for a tort committed in the course of the administration of the custodial trust unless the custodial trustee is personally at fault.
  3. A beneficiary is not personally liable to a third person for an obligation arising from beneficial ownership of custodial trust property or for a tort committed in the course of administration of the custodial trust unless the beneficiary is personally in possession of the custodial trust property giving rise to the liability or is personally at fault.
  4. The provisions of subsections (2) and (3) of this section do not preclude actions or proceedings to establish liability of the custodial trustee or beneficiary to the extent the person sued is protected as the insured by liability insurance.
History.

I.C.,§ 68-1312, as added by 1989, ch. 230, § 1, p. 547.

COMMENT TO OFFICIAL TEXT

This section is patterned after Section 17 of the UTMA and that section in turn was based upon Sections 5-428 and 7-306 of the Uniform Probate Code limiting the liability of conservators and trustees. See also Restatement of Trusts, 2d Sections 265 and 277. The effect of this section is to limit the claims of third parties to recourse against custodial trust property as both the custodial trustee and the beneficiary are protected from personal liability absent personal fault on their part. This section does not alter the obligations between the custodial trustee and the beneficiary arising out of the administration of the estate and the accounting for that administration.

There may be cases in which a custodial trustee or beneficiary may have a right to possession of custodial trust property and may insure against liability arising out of possession or control of the property as a named insured, e.g., under homeowner’s or automobile liability insurance. In such a case, the beneficiary should be permitted as a party defendant under subsection (d) but only to the extent of the protection of the liability insurance.

§ 68-1313. Declination, resignation, incapacity, death, or removal of custodial trustee — Designation of successor custodial trustee.

  1. Before accepting the custodial trust property, a person designated as custodial trustee may decline to serve by notifying the person who made the designation, the transferor, or the transferor’s legal representative. If an event giving rise to a transfer has not occurred, the substitute custodial trustee designated under section 68-1303, Idaho Code, becomes the custodial trustee, or, if a substitute custodial trustee has not been designated, the person who made the designation may designate a substitute custodial trustee pursuant to section 68-1303, Idaho Code. In other cases, the transferor or the transferor’s legal representative may designate a substitute custodial trustee.
  2. A custodial trustee who has accepted the custodial trust property may resign by (i) delivering written notice to a successor custodial trustee, if any, the beneficiary and, if the beneficiary is incapacitated, to the beneficiary’s conservator, if any, and (ii) transferring or registering, or recording an appropriate instrument relating to, the custodial trust property, in the name of and delivering the records to, the successor custodial trustee identified under subsection (3) of this section.
  3. If a custodial trustee or successor custodial trustee is ineligible, resigns, dies, or becomes incapacitated, the successor, designated under section 68-1302 or 68-1303, Idaho Code, becomes custodial trustee. If there is no effective provision for a successor, the beneficiary, if not incapacitated, may designate a successor custodial trustee. If the beneficiary is incapacitated, or fails to act within ninety (90) days after the ineligibility, resignation, death, or incapacity of the custodial trustee, the beneficiary’s conservator becomes the successor custodial trustee. If the beneficiary does not have a conservator or the conservator fails to act, the resigning custodial trustee may designate a successor custodial trustee.
  4. If a successor custodial trustee is not designated pursuant to subsection (3) of this section, the transferor, the legal representative of the transferor or of the custodial trustee, an adult member of the beneficiary’s family, the guardian of the beneficiary, a person interested in the custodial trust property, or a person interested in the welfare of the beneficiary, may petition the court to designate a successor custodial trustee.
  5. A custodial trustee who declines to serve or resigns, or the legal representative of a deceased or incapacitated custodial trustee, as soon as practicable, shall put the custodial trust property and records in the possession and control of the successor custodial trustee. The successor custodial trustee may enforce the obligation to deliver custodial trust property and records and becomes responsible for each item as received.
History.

(6) A beneficiary, the beneficiary’s conservator, an adult member of the beneficiary’s family, a guardian of the person of the beneficiary, a person interested in the custodial trust property, or a person interested in the welfare of the beneficiary, may petition the court to remove the custodial trustee for cause and designate a successor custodial trustee, to require the custodial trustee to furnish a bond or other security for the faithful performance of fiduciary duties, or for other appropriate relief. History.

I.C.,§ 68-1313, as added by 1989, ch. 230, § 1, p. 547.

COMMENT TO OFFICIAL TEXT

This section follows many of the provisions of Section 18 of UTMA with some substantive changes. It is designed to accommodate in a single section the circumstances in which a custodial trustee would be replaced by another custodial trustee. Under subsection (b), if the beneficiary is incapacitated, a custodial trustee who resigns must give written notice to both the beneficiary and the beneficiary’s conservator if one exists. Under subsection (c), a beneficiary who is not incapacitated may designate, without limitation, a successor custodial trustee. If, however, the beneficiary fails to act or is incapacitated, the procedure to be followed is very similar to that found in UTMA except that the nonincapacitated beneficiary has 90 days to act and if the beneficiary has no conservator or if the conservator declines to act, the custodial trustee may eventually designate a successor custodial trustee.

Under subsection (f), the beneficiary, whether or not incapacitated, can petition the court to remove the custodial trustee for cause and to designate a successor trustee, or the court may require the custodial trustee to give bond or other appropriate relief.

This section, unlike Section 18 of UTMA, does not give the custodial trustee the general power to designate a successor custodial trustee but rather limits that power to the situation in which the procedure for designating successor custodial trustees by others has been exhausted.

§ 68-1314. Expenses, compensation and bond of custodial trustee.

Except as otherwise provided in the instrument creating the custodial trust, in an agreement with the beneficiary, or by court order, a custodial trustee:

  1. Is entitled to reimbursement from custodial trust property for reasonable expenses incurred in the performance of fiduciary services;
  2. Has a noncumulative election, to be made no later than six (6) months after the end of each calendar year, to charge a reasonable compensation for fiduciary services performed during that year; and
  3. Need not furnish a bond or other security for the faithful performance of fiduciary duties.
History.

I.C.,§ 68-1314, as added by 1989, ch. 230, § 1, p. 547.

COMMENT TO OFFICIAL TEXT

This section follows the pattern of Section 15 of the UTMA except it does subject the arrangements for payment of expenses, compensation, and bond to provisions in the custodial trust instrument or agreement of the beneficiary or court order.

As in UTMA, the provisions with regard to compensation are designed to avoid imputed compensation to the custodian who waives compensation and also to avoid the accumulation of claims for compensation until the termination of the custodial trust. Although the ability to control these matters by the trust instrument or agreement of the beneficiary seems to be implied, as was assumed in UTMA, it is here expressly stated because of the possibility of informal arrangements with persons as trustees.

§ 68-1315. Reporting and accounting by custodial trustee — Determination of liability of custodial trustee.

  1. Upon the acceptance of custodial trust property, the custodial trustee shall provide a written statement describing the custodial trust property and shall thereafter provide a written statement of the administration of the custodial trust property (i) once each year, (ii) upon request at reasonable times by the beneficiary or the beneficiary’s legal representative, (iii) upon resignation or removal of the custodial trustee, and (iv) upon termination of the custodial trust. The statements must be provided to the beneficiary or to the beneficiary’s legal representative, if any. Upon termination of the beneficiary’s interest, the custodial trustee shall furnish a current statement to the person to whom the custodial trustee [trust] property is to be delivered.
  2. A beneficiary, the beneficiary’s legal representative, an adult member of the beneficiary’s family, a person interested in the custodial trust property, or a person interested in the welfare of the beneficiary may petition the court for an accounting by the custodial trustee or the custodial trustee’s legal representative.
  3. A successor custodial trustee may petition the court for an accounting by a predecessor custodial trustee.
  4. In an action or proceeding under this chapter or in any other proceeding, the court may require or permit the custodial trustee or the custodial trustee’s legal representative to account. The custodial trustee or the custodial trustee’s legal representative may petition the court for approval of final accounts.
  5. If a custodial trustee is removed, the court shall require an accounting and order delivery of the custodial trust property and records to the successor custodial trustee and the execution of all instruments required for transfer of the custodial trust property.
  6. On petition of the custodial trustee or any person who could petition for an accounting, the court, after notice to interested persons, may issue instructions to the custodial trustee or review the propriety of the acts of a custodial trustee or the reasonableness of compensation determined by the custodial trustee for the services of the custodial trustee or others.
History.

I.C.,§ 68-1315, as added by 1989, ch. 230, § 1, p. 547.

STATUTORY NOTES

Compiler’s Notes.

The bracketed insertion near the end of subsection (1) was added by the compiler to conform this section to the uniform act.

COMMENT TO OFFICIAL TEXT

This section requires that the custodial trustee inform the beneficiary of the initiation of the trust and provide reasonably current reports of the administration of the custodial trust to the beneficiary or the beneficiary’s legal representative. Even though some custodial trustees may act informally, it seems appropriate that both the trustee and the beneficiary be expected to exchange complete information concerning the administration of the trust at least once each year. In some cases, more frequent exchanges of information between the custodial trustee and beneficiary would be expected, e.g., when they use a bank account to which both have access. This is particularly true with regard to necessary information for tax reporting by the parties involved. This section assumes the usual minimum components of an account, i.e., assets and values, at the beginning of the accounting period, receipts, and disbursements during the accounting period and assets and their values on hand or available for distribution at the close of the accounting period.

Subsection (a) identifies the necessary reports and accountings for the parties, and subsection (b) identifies a broad group of persons who may petition the court for an accounting by the custodial trustee or the custodial trustee’s legal representative. Much of the section is drawn from Section 19 of the UTMA modified to fit the custodial trust.

Subsection (f) recognizes the inherent power of the court to instruct trustees and review their actions. This paragraph is patterned after Uniform Probate Code Section 7-205.

§ 68-1316. Limitations of action against custodial trustee.

  1. Except as provided in subsection (3) of this section, unless previously barred by adjudication, consent, or limitation, a claim for relief against a custodial trustee for accounting or breach of duty is barred as to a beneficiary, a person to whom custodial trust property is to be paid or delivered, or the legal representative of an incapacitated or deceased beneficiary or payee:
    1. Who has received a final account or statement fully disclosing the matter unless an action or proceeding to assert the claim is commenced within two (2) years after receipt of the final account or statement; or
    2. Who has not received a final account or statement fully disclosing the matter unless an action or proceeding to assert the claim is commenced within three (3) years after the termination of the custodial trust.
  2. Except as provided in subsection (3) of this section, a claim for relief to recover from a custodial trustee for fraud, misrepresentation, or concealment related to the final settlement of the custodial trust or concealment of the existence of the custodial trust, is barred unless an action or proceeding to assert the claim is commenced within five (5) years after the termination of the custodial trust.
  3. A claim for relief is not barred by this section if the claimant:
    1. Is a minor, until the earlier of two (2) years after the claimant becomes an adult or dies;
    2. Is an incapacitated adult, until the earliest of two (2) years after (i) the appointment of a conservator, (ii) the removal of the incapacity, or (iii) the death of the claimant; or
    3. Was an adult, now deceased, who was not incapacitated, until two (2) years after the claimant’s death.
History.

I.C.,§ 68-1316, as added by 1989, ch. 230, § 1, p. 547.

COMMENT TO OFFICIAL TEXT

In an effort to provide as comprehensive a statute as possible to inform the parties of substantially all of their obligations and rights, statutes of limitation are provided in this section. The limitations provided in this section are derived from the Uniform Probate Code, Sections 1-106 and 7-307, and from the Missouri Custodial Act.

The nature of the limitations imposed by the section are illustrated by the situation in which a custodial trustee is removed, resigns, or dies. If the former custodial trustee accounts as required under Section 13 on removal or resignation, or the deceased custodial trustee’s personal representative accounts, the two-year limitation of subsection (a)(1) applies. Should the former custodial trustee or the personal representative fail to account, then, subsection (a)(2) would apply to limit the time in which a proceeding to assert the claim could be commenced. This time would begin to run on the date the trust terminated. Of course, if the claim is one for fraud or concealment, the longer time limitation of subsection (b) would apply. In any event, should the beneficiary become incapacitated or die before the applicable time limitation had expired, the tolling provision of subsection (c) could postpone the time bar until two years after removal of the disability or death.

§ 68-1317. Distribution on termination.

  1. Upon termination of a custodial trust, the custodial trustee shall transfer the unexpended custodial trust property:
    1. To the beneficiary, if not incapacitated or deceased;
    2. To the conservator or other recipient designated by the court for an incapacitated beneficiary; or
    3. Upon the beneficiary’s death, in the following order:
      1. As last directed in a writing signed by the deceased beneficiary while not incapacitated and received by the custodial trustee during the life of the deceased beneficiary;
      2. To the survivor of multiple beneficiaries if survivorship is provided for pursuant to section 68-1306, Idaho Code;
      3. As designated in the instrument creating the custodial trust; or
      4. To the estate of the deceased beneficiary.
  2. If, when the custodial trust would otherwise terminate, the distributee is incapacitated, the custodial trust continues for the use and benefit of the distributee as beneficiary until the incapacity is removed or the custodial trust is otherwise terminated.
  3. Death of the beneficiary does not terminate the power of the custodial trustee to discharge obligations of the custodial trustee or beneficiary incurred before the termination of the custodial trust.
History.

I.C.,§ 68-1317, as added by 1989, ch. 230, § 1, p. 547.

COMMENT TO OFFICIAL TEXT

This section controls distribution of the custodial trust property when the custodial trust is terminated under Section 2(e). It is designed to provide for efficient and certain distribution without judicial proceedings. Subsection (a)(3) is an important provision for avoiding complications on distribution and provides that distribution may be controlled first, by the direction of the deceased beneficiary or second, by the custodial trust instrument (see Sections 2, 6 and 18) and, only if no effective prior designation for the payment or distribution of the property on the death of the beneficiary has been made, shall it pass through the beneficiary’s estate. The direction to the custodial trustee by the beneficiary, who is not incapacitated, for distribution on termination of the custodial trust may be in any written form clearly identifying the distributee. For example, the following direction would be adequate under the statute:

I, _____ (name of beneficiary) hereby direct _____ (name of trustee) as custodial trustee, to transfer and pay the unexpended balance of the custodial trust property of which I am beneficiary to _____ as distributee on the termination of the trust at my death. In the event of the prior death of_____ above named as distributee, I designate _____ as distributee of the custodial trust property.

Signed

(signature)

________________________________

Beneficiary

Date ____________________

Receipt Acknowledged

(signature)

________________________________

Custodial Trustee

Date ____________________

§ 68-1318. Methods and forms for creating custodial trusts.

  1. If a transaction, including a declaration with respect to or a transfer of specific property, otherwise satisfies applicable law, the criteria of section 68-1302, Idaho Code, are satisfied by:
    1. The execution and either delivery to the custodial trustee or recording of an instrument in substantially the following form:

TRANSFER UNDER THE IDAHO UNIFORM CUSTODIAL TRUST ACT

I, ..... (name of transferor or name of representative capacity if a fiduciary) ....., transfer to ..... (name of trustee other than transferor) ....., as custodial trustee for ..... (name of beneficiary) ..... as beneficiary and ..... as distributee on termination of the trust in absence of direction by the beneficiary under the Idaho Uniform Custodial Trust Act, the following: (insert a description of the custodial trust property legally sufficient to identify and transfer each item of property).

Dated: ...............................

...............................

(Signature); or

(b) The execution and the recording or giving notice of its execution to the beneficiary of an instrument in substantially the following form:

DECLARATION OF TRUST UNDER THE IDAHO UNIFORM CUSTODIAL TRUST ACT

I, ..... (name of owner of property) ....., declare that henceforth I hold as custodial trustee for ..... (name of beneficiary other than transferor) ..... as beneficiary and ..... as distributee on termination of the trust in absence of direction by the beneficiary under the Idaho Uniform Custodial Trust Act, the following: (Insert a description of the custodial trust property legally sufficient to identify and transfer each item of property).

Date: ...............................

...............................

(2) Customary methods of transferring or evidencing ownership of property may be used to create a custodial trust, including any of the following:

  1. Registration of a security in the name of a trust company, an adult other than the transferor, or the transferor if the beneficiary is other than the transferor, designated in the substance “as custodial trustee for (name of beneficiary) under the Idaho Uniform Custodial Trust Act”;
  2. Delivery of a certificated security, or a document necessary for the transfer of an uncertificated security, together with any necessary endorsement, to an adult other than the transferor or to a trust company as custodial trustee accompanied by an instrument in substantially the form prescribed in subsection (1)(a) of this section;
  3. Payment of money or transfer of a security held in the name of a broker or a financial institution or its nominee to a broker or financial institution for credit to an account in the name of a trust company, an adult other than the transferor, or the transferor if the beneficiary is other than the transferor, designated in substance: “as custodial trustee for (name of beneficiary) under the Idaho Uniform Custodial Trust Act”;
  4. Registration of ownership of a life or endowment insurance policy or annuity contract with the issuer in the name of a trust company, an adult other than the transferor, or the transferor if the beneficiary is other than the transferor, designated in substance: “as custodial trustee for (name of beneficiary) under the Idaho Uniform Custodial Trust Act”;
  5. Delivery of a written assignment to an adult other than the transferor or to a trust company whose name in the assignment is designated in substance by the words: “as custodial trustee for (name of beneficiary) under the Idaho Uniform Custodial Trust Act”;
  6. Irrevocable exercise of a power of appointment, pursuant to its terms, in favor of a trust company, an adult other than the donee of the power, or the donee who holds the power if the beneficiary is other than the donee, whose name in the appointment is designated in substance: “as custodial trustee for (name of beneficiary) under the Idaho Uniform Custodial Act”;
  7. Delivery of a written notification or assignment of a right to future payment under a contract to an obligor which transfers the right under the contract to a trust company, an adult other than the transferor, or the transferor if the beneficiary is other than the transferor, whose name in the notification or assignment is designated in substance: “as custodial trustee for (name of beneficiary) under the Idaho Uniform Custodial Trust Act”;
  8. Execution, delivery, and recordation of a conveyance of an interest in real property in the name of a trust company, an adult other than the transferor, or the transferor if the beneficiary is other than the transferor, designated in substance: “as custodial trustee for (name of beneficiary) under the Idaho Uniform Custodial Trust Act”;
  9. Issuance of a certificate of title by an agency of a state or of the United States which evidences title to tangible personal property:
    1. Issued in the name of a trust company, an adult other than the transferor, or the transferor if the beneficiary is other than the transferor, designated in substance: “as custodial trustee for (name of beneficiary) under the Idaho Uniform Custodial Trust Act”; or
    2. Delivered to a trust company or an adult other than the transferor or endorsed by the transferor to that person, designated in substance: “as custodial trustee for (name of beneficiary) under the Idaho Uniform Custodial Trust Act”; or
  10. Execution and delivery of an instrument of gift to a trust company or an adult other than the transferor, designated in substance: “as custodial trustee for (name of beneficiary) under the Idaho Uniform Custodial Trust Act.”
History.

I.C.,§ 68-1318, as added by 1989, ch. 230, § 1, p. 547.

COMMENT TO OFFICIAL TEXT

This section largely follows Section 9 of UTMA. It provides instructional detail for forms and methods of transferring assets that satisfy the requirements of the statute. Although many of the customary methods of transferring assets are identified, these methods are not intended to be exclusive since any type of property that can be transferred by any legal means is intended to be within the scope of the statute, provided the requirements of Section 2 are met. The method of transfer or conveyance appropriate to the asset should be used, e.g., if land is involved, a deed or conveyance that satisfies the local requirements would be appropriate. In the effort to make the statute as self-contained and as fully explanatory as possible, these provisions for implementation are included in the statute rather than being appended or inserted in the Comments.

§ 68-1319. Applicable law.

  1. This chapter applies to a transfer or declaration creating a custodial trust that refers to this chapter if, at the time of the transfer or declaration, the transferor, beneficiary, or custodial trustee is a resident of or has its principal place of business in this state or custodial trust property is located in this state. The custodial trust remains subject to this chapter despite a later change in residence or principal place of business of the transferor, beneficiary, or custodial trustee, or removal of the custodial trust property from this state.
  2. A transfer made pursuant to an act of another state substantially similar to the provisions of this chapter is governed by the law of that state and may be enforced in this state.
History.

I.C.,§ 68-1319, as added by 1989, ch. 230, § 1, p. 547.

COMMENT TO OFFICIAL TEXT

This section is designed to avoid confusion in the event a party or assets are removed from the state.

§ 68-1320. Uniformity of application and construction.

This chapter shall be applied and construed to effectuate its general purpose to make uniform the law with respect to the subject of this chapter among states enacting it.

History.

I.C.,§ 68-1320, as added by 1989, ch. 230, § 1, p. 547.

§ 68-1321. Short title.

This chapter may be cited as the “Idaho Uniform Custodial Trust Act.”

History.

I.C.,§ 68-1321, as added by 1989, ch. 230, § 1, p. 547.

§ 68-1322. Severability.

If any provision of this chapter or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of this chapter which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this chapter are severable.

History.

I.C.,§ 68-1322, as added by 1989, ch. 230, § 1, p. 547.

Chapter 14 COURT APPROVED PAYMENTS OR AWARDS TO MINORS OR INCOMPETENT PERSONS

Sec.

§ 68-1401. Application.

The provisions of this chapter apply when:

  1. A court approves a compromise of a judgment on a disputed claim of a minor or incompetent person, the execution of a release of a claim or covenant not to enforce a judgment on a claim of a minor or incompetent person, a compromise of a pending action or proceeding to which a minor or incompetent person is a party, or when a court awards judgment for a minor or incompetent person; and
  2. The compromise, release, covenant or judgment provides for the payment or delivery of money or property for the benefit of the minor or incompetent person.
History.

I.C.,§ 68-1401, as added by 1995, ch. 214, § 1, p. 742.

§ 68-1402. Order directing payment of expenses, costs and fees.

  1. As part of the order approving a compromise, release, covenant or judgment pursuant to this chapter, the court shall also order that the reasonable and necessary expenses of the minor or incompetent person including, but not limited to, medical expenses, reimbursement to a parent, guardian, or conservator, and attorney’s fees and costs approved by the court, shall be paid from the money or property to be paid or delivered for the benefit of the minor or incompetent person.
  2. The order for payment of expenses may be directed to the following:
    1. A parent or guardian of a minor or incompetent person or a guardianship or conservatorship of the estate of a minor or incompetent person; or
    2. The payor of money or property pursuant to the compromise, covenant, or judgment for the benefit of the minor or incompetent person.
History.

I.C.,§ 68-1402, as added by 1995, ch. 214, § 1, p. 742.

CASE NOTES

Notice And Hearing.

In a case involving medical payments made by Medicaid for the treatment of an incompetent, the court should have determined the department of health and welfare’s entitlement to reimbursement at the time the compromise was presented to the court for approval, which could not be done without affording the department notice and an opportunity to be heard on the matter. State Dep’t of Health & Welfare v. Hudelson (In re Hudelson), 146 Idaho 439, 196 P.3d 905 (2008), overruled on other grounds, Verska v. St. Alphonsus Med. Ctr., 151 Idaho 889, 265 P.3d 502 (2011).

§ 68-1403. Disposition of balance.

  1. If there is no guardianship or conservatorship of the estate of the minor or incompetent person, the balance of the money or property, after payment of all expenses approved by the court pursuant to this chapter, shall be paid, delivered or deposited in the manner the court determines in its discretion is in the best interest of the minor or incompetent person, including the creation of a special needs trust.
  2. Except as provided in this section, if there is a guardianship or conservatorship of the estate of the minor or incompetent person, the balance of the money or property remaining after payment of expenses approved by the court pursuant to this chapter shall be paid or delivered to the guardian or conservator of the estate.
  3. Upon an ex parte petition filed by the guardian, conservator or any person interested in the guardianship or conservatorship estate, the court making an order or awarding judgment pursuant to this chapter may for good cause shown, order either or both of the following:
    1. That, after payment of expenses, all or part of the balance of money or property shall not become part of the guardianship or conservatorship estate and instead shall be deposited in an insured account in a financial institution in Idaho, or in a single premium deferred annuity, subject to withdrawal only when authorized by the court.
    2. If there exists a guardianship of the estate of the minor, the court may order that, after payment of expenses, all or part of the balance of money or property not become part of the guardianship estate and instead be transferred to a custodian for the benefit of the minor under the Idaho uniform transfers to minors act, chapter 8, title 68, Idaho Code.
  4. Upon a petition by the guardian, conservator, or any person interested in the guardianship or conservatorship estate, the court making an order or awarding judgment pursuant to this chapter may order that, after payment of expenses, all or part of the balance of money or property not become part of the guardianship or conservatorship estate and instead be paid to a special needs trust.
  5. Notice of the time and place of hearing on a petition filed pursuant to this section, and a copy of the petition, shall be mailed to the director of the Idaho department of health and welfare at least fifteen (15) days before the hearing.
History.

I.C.,§ 68-1403, as added by 1995, ch. 214, § 1, p. 742.

STATUTORY NOTES

Cross References.

Director of department of health and welfare,§ 56-1003 et seq.

§ 68-1404. Incompetent persons.

References in this chapter to “incompetent person,” shall be deemed to include persons for whom a conservator may be appointed pursuant to section 15-5-401, Idaho Code.

History.

I.C.,§ 68-1404, as added by 1995, ch. 214, § 1, p. 742.

§ 68-1405. Special needs trusts — Requirements — Jurisdiction of court — Court orders.

  1. If a court orders that money of a minor or incompetent person be paid to a special needs trust, the terms of the trust shall be reviewed and approved by the court and shall satisfy the requirements of this section. The trust shall be subject to the continuing jurisdiction of the court, and is subject to court supervision to the extent determined by the court. The court may transfer jurisdiction to the court in the county where the minor or incompetent person resides.
  2. A special needs trust may be established and continued under this section only if the court determines all of the following:
    1. That the minor or incompetent person has a disability that substantially impairs the individual’s ability to provide for the individual’s own care or custody;
    2. That the minor or incompetent person is likely to have special needs that will not be met without the trust; and
    3. That money to be paid to the trust does not exceed the amount that appears reasonably necessary to meet the special needs of the minor or incompetent person.
  3. If at any time it appears that:
    1. Any of the requirements of this section are not satisfied or the trustee refuses without good cause to make payments from the trust for the special needs of the beneficiary; and
    2. That the Idaho department of health and welfare or a county or city in this state has a claim against trust property, then the Idaho department of health and welfare, the county or the city may petition the court for an order terminating the trust.
  4. A court order for payment of money or property to a special needs trust shall include a provision that all statutory liens properly perfected at the time of the court’s order, and in favor of the Idaho department of health and welfare or any county or city of this state, shall be satisfied first.
History.

I.C.,§ 68-1405, as added by 1995, ch. 214, § 1, p. 742; am. 2010, ch. 235, § 68, p. 542.

STATUTORY NOTES

Cross References.

Department of health and welfare,§ 56-1001 et seq.

Amendments.

The 2010 amendment, by ch. 235, deleted “and constitutes a substantial handicap” from the end of paragraph (2)(a).